Bring Me To Life REWRITE
by NativeMoon
Summary: If he was the question then she was the answer to that question. Severus Snape tries to let go of his past while serving out the debt owed to Dumbledore. Severus Snape, OFC AU
1. In the beginning

**Plot, new characters, new magical terms and abilities etc. are my intellectual property. If you want to borrow then please kindly ask. JK Rowling's characters and Wizarding Universe are all uniquely hers.**

**Summary:**__**Severus Snape decides to have a life and tries to let go of his past while serving out the debt owed to Dumbledore.**

**Bring Me To Life by NativeMoon – REPOST with edits**

**Chapter 1: In the Beginning**

_Year 1_

'_Serpentarius, Angharad,'_ called Professor McGonagall. She furrowed her eyebrows as she read that name and it made her look even more stern than usual. It struck her as one of the more peculiar of Wizarding names that she had come across in her time as Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts and Head of Gryffindor House and that was saying something. There were a few looks at some of the House tables around the Great Hall with a smattering of sniggers. It seemed that some in their midst were in agreement.

'_Serpentarius_. Slytherin for sure,' whispered Fred Weasley to his brother Ron and another newly sorted Gryffindor, Harry Potter.

'_Angharad_. Ohhh we could have quite a bit of fun with that ickle firstie,' laughed Fred's twin George.

As they returned their attention to the proceedings, a small girl made her way through the gaggle of students waiting to be sorted. The young girl, aged 12, had long reddish-brown hair that hung in waves and wispy curls and a fringe that nearly hid her eyes. She had big milk chocolate brown and her skin was a flawless dark honey. She looked as exotic as she was given her mixed-race heritage. Her father was Anglo-French and her mother an Indian from Mid Wales.

As the room watched impatiently, the girl took her place on the stool and Professor McGonagall placed the Sorting Hat on her head.

'_Oooooooooo My!'_ exclaimed the Hat. The Hat was not being nearly as quiet as it had been when it sorted Harry Potter, The Boy Who Lived. _'Now you, my dear; YOU are VERY interesting indeed! An undeniably fierce intellect and cool ability for logic. How very Ravenclaw you are in this. You would surely give that noble house a run for its money!'_

At the Hat's words about the girl's intellect and logical ability, Marietta Edgecombe looked as if she had been slapped with a giant fish as she sat with her fellow Ravenclaws. Ron Weasley did not fail to notice this and gave a loud snort. He whispered to Harry who was seated next to him and surreptitiously nodded towards across the room. _'This is going to be interesting'_, he commented as they looked at the uptight Second Year who seemed to be cursed with a face that could sour milk despite being in a House renowned for the attractiveness of its students as much as it was for their intelligence.

'_A hard worker and extremely patient. Very Hufflepuff,'_ said the Hat as it continued_. 'Hmmm; undeniable bravery and chivalry. Lots of nerve and extremely daring. Godric Gryffindor would be proud.'_

'Another Hatstall!' someone commented loudly. 'Watch out!'

The older students seated at the House tables who could hear were murmuring amongst themselves. Most of the time the Hat was jammed on and it just said a few words before shouting out the House. The Hat was taking so bloody long to deliberate that they were all dying of starvation. Still, when the Hat took it's time it always proved to be quite interesting.

Now those that could hear were wondering about her Slytherin qualities. As the Hat had waffled on and on through the other Houses, Slytherin was the last. Even Professor Snape, who looked his usual indifferent and dour self, was most curious about _this_. The only one of two not terribly fussed was the girl herself. How could she be? She was a Muggle-born and had no clue about what she was walking into. The other person was Professor Quirrell, who was looking surreptitiously at Harry Potter.

The Hat continued. _'Ooohhh now this – this is MOST interesting. Very ambitious and determined to be successful. A survivor in ever sense of the word. Hmmmm…RIGHT! Resourceful and most definitely cunning. And some REMARKABLE as yet untapped abilities.'_

If the Hat had had eyes and a body it would have turned and looked straight at Harry Potter when it spoke about _'remarkable as yet untapped abilities'_.

'_Ahhh such marvelous aspects of your character including grace, loyalty and pride not only in __who__ you are, but also in __knowing__ who you are,' _continued the Hat_. 'Faultless in your meticulousness, self-sufficiency and confidence. An exceptionally sharp yet lethal mind. Honorable. Yes, most interesting indeed. Most definitely Slytherin and so very interesting for one who is __Muggleborn__.'_

Another pause.

'_But __**where**__ to put you,'_ mused the Hat for the second time that evening with a student.

Harry Potter had been the first and Gryffindor had already ended up with more than their fair share of seemingly impressive First Years. People were getting as impatient with this sorting as they had with Potter and the others. But the way it _'Ooohed'_ and _'Aaaahed'_ over this 'ickle firstie'; you would think the Hat was giving her a head massage. And those qualities it noted about Slytherin! No one had heard _any_ of some of those before! The Hat made Slytherin House sound almost _noble_ for a change. Unusually, the Slytherins were feeling quite proud indeed. Had any of them been Muggles it would have been a Kodak moment.

There was another lengthy pause. You could have heard a pin drop which was highly unusual for the Great Hall. All of the Houses were wondering who was going to get her. At the Gryffindor table Hermione Granger was silently praying to herself that _'Serpentarius, Angharad'_ would not be in _her_ House.

'_**All things considered**__, you __**would **__be __**best**__ placed in __**SLYTHERIN**__,'_ shouted the Hat at long last.

There was a moment's silence like the quiet before a thunderstorm.

Then there was a monumental explosion of loud whoops and much banging and foot-stomping noises coming most uncharacteristically from the Slytherin table. Some of the older students were welcoming Angharad with high-fives and back-slapping and others with hand shakes and nods of their heads as she took her place at the table. They were astute enough to recognise the value of having someone like _her_ in their house, even if she was Muggleborn. Hell, even the Dark Lord himself had been a Half-blood with a Muggle father; an irony not lost on the more intelligent of the lot who happened to be aware of it. The Gryffindors weren't the only ones to get someone that stood out a bit more than the rest. Harry Potter, Hermione Granger and the rest of them be damned.

Contrary to popular beliefs only _some_ of their House were vitriolic about bloodlines. There were always a number of Half-Bloods and perhaps the odd Muggleborn or two in the House at any given time. There always had been though it was not common knowledge. Why should it be? It was no one else's business. The rest of the School was severely prejudiced against Slytherin and tarnished them all with the same brush. Slytherin House had to fight for whatever scraps of glory it could get usually.

Some of the older students at the other House tables were moaning, the Gryffindors in particular. It was not everyday that the Slytherins got one over on them, and a Muggleborn at that! They may have gotten Harry Potter, but for some reason it was not enough right now.

The only Ravenclaw not complaining was Marietta Edgecombe. _"There is a God and he __must__ be a Ravenclaw!"_ she thought with a self-satisfied smirk on her face. Marietta did not even know the Slytherin girl, but already had decided that she did not like her. Marietta was indeed very clever, but she was seriously lacking in humility. This disposition would not improve as she grew older.

At the teacher's table Professor Snape clapped politely in his usual stilted manner. But on the inside he was quite pleased and now definitely curious to see what kind of student she would be, particularly in Potions. He made a note to himself to summon Miss Serpentarius to his office for a private word before retiring for the evening. It was probably best that he speak with her as soon as possible. As a Muggleborn this newest Slytherin was ignorant of the prejudices of this world and especially from some within his own House. He would definitely have to keep an eye on young Master Malfoy and his henchmen goons Crabbe and Goyle, not to mention some of the others. Most Death Eater children were no better than their parents. Largely because they did not know any better, but until they were old enough to make their own decisions and fend for themselves they had little say in what their parents expected them to be, even at Hogwarts.

Professor Snape would review her student file first thing after dinner. As the Houses were called out by the Sorting Hat, a duplicate of each student's file appeared in the appropriate Head of House's office from Professor McGonagall. None of the other Hogwarts teachers knew anything about incoming students except for Professors McGonagall and Dumbledore. Dumbledore and McGonagall only discussed individual students after the sorting was done.

**xxxOOOxxx**

Angharad Selena Serpentarius had gone up to her dormitory after an informal gathering in the Slytherin Common Room after dinner. Contrary to assumed beliefs only the Common Room was under the lake. The boys and girls dormitories were accessed from either end of the expansive room by rather steep circular staircases going up four levels. Like all traditional British castles, Hogwarts had dungeons that were both below and above ground. The Tower of London was a perfect example of this. It was a widely held misconception that dungeons were always below ground.

The Fourth, Fifth, Sixth and Seventh-year students had their own floors which were at the Fifth, Sixth and Seventh levels with three sets of stairs separating each. The Seven Years had their own individual suites of two rooms and their own private bathroom. Although the other Upper Years did not have to share a room either, they only had one very large and spacious room with a en-suite bathroom. The rest of the Slytherin House dormitories were split amongst another three levels. The castle was large enough for every student at Hogwarts to have had their own suite of rooms. But it was felt that it was best to share space in the first three years to foster House spirit and friendship amongst the students before giving them their own much-needed private space.

Angharad had just changed out of her uniform into comfortable baggy white linen drawstring pants and a t-shirt which revealed delicate rose quartz and silver navel piercing in her belly button when she stretched.

'My mother would have my head on a stick if I did that to myself!' Pansy Parkinson screeched with envy.

'Don't tell them. If you wear loose clothes they don't even have to know,' Angharad commented, giving her a look. 'Just be prepared to do some fast talking if they find out; that's what I did. In the end I just came right out and told them because the pretending got old really fast. The hole was healed so there wasn't anything they could do about it even if they'd cared to.'

Pansy finally left her alone and went down to the Common Room to bother their other roommates who had gone back down to continue their party. Angharad was in the process of finishing her unpacking when the House owl flew into her dormitory room that she shared with four First Years and dropped a sealed note written on parchment.

She sat on the edge of her Mahogany four-poster canopied bed to read it. At first glance the handwriting was quite elegant, done in calligraphy as it was. Whoever it was from had certainly taken their time crafting such a thing.

_Dear Miss Serpentarius,_

_Congratulations on your sorting and welcome to Slytherin House. Kindly make your way to my office which is located downstairs from you in the dungeons. You may enter through the Potions classroom which is clearly marked. I wish to have a brief word with you._

_Regards,_

_Professor Severus Snape_

_Head of Slytherin House  
and Potions Master_

Professor Snape had been kind enough to enclose a little map of directions on the most direct route to his office from her dormitory. Thank goodness for that as she most certainly would have wandered for days by the looks of things. As she made her way to his office at 8:00pm, Angharad wondered silently if she was in any kind of trouble already. It was hard to tell by the note. It was strangely ambiguous, she thought as she tucked it away in the back of her bottom drawer.

**xxxOOOxxx**

Professor Snape sat at his desk with Angharad's file open in front of him, reading the copious notes provided by Professor McGonagall. She was well and truly Muggleborn, with little knowledge of the world she had just entered.

She'd had exceptionally high marks all through grammar and the bit of secondary school she had attended until now and the comments of her Muggle teachers were quite praiseworthy about her academics as well as being complimentary about her character. She was judged to be a great thinker, interested and quite talented in the arts. Thoughtful, considerate, introspective but with a tendency to be outspoken at times when she ought to keep her own counsel. Yet she could also be 'quite stubborn', could 'exhibit a vicious temper at authoritarian injustices' and 'marched to the beat of her own drummer' as one put it. However all of them commented on how very mature and quite independent she was for her age. She was apparently quite sensitive and had demonstrated tremendous compassion and caring for her fellow students.

The young girl was a bundle of very interesting contradictions and complexities, much like himself. It was very rarely that Severus Snape looked forward to meeting anyone, but though he would not admit it to himself, he was looking forward to meeting this seemingly atypical Slytherin.

**xxxOOOxxx**

_RAP, RAP, RAP!_

There was a firm yet understated knocking at his office door.

'Come,' said Professor Snape in his usual silky whisper of a baritone.

The door slowly opened and a dark head poked around it hesitantly.

'Professor Snape?'

Professor Snape was caught off guard. It was hard to ever catch him out, but hearing her voice was a big surprise. One did not expect a 12-year old to have such a voice. If velvet could speak it would have her voice. Although these days anything was possible. A lot of children seemed more like adults than most adults if his ventures into Muggle London were anything to go by.

'Miss Serpentarius, come,' he directed her once again.

Angharad strode into the large round office and took a seat in front of the blazing fire in his fireplace without being told to do so. She crossed her legs and then folded her hands neatly in her lap after adjusting the sweatshirt she'd thrown on and focused her attention on her Head of House who was still standing up.

It was as if a grown woman was sitting there to just keep him company.

Professor Snape then did something highly unusual. So unusual that years later when he looked back on this moment he realised that _this_ really was where _it_ all began.

He sat down in the chair opposite her in front of the fire rather than back behind his large desk with her standing in front of it with him interrogating her as was his usual way of doing things.

**xxxOOOxxx**

Professor Snape tapped his wand on the table between the two large chairs and a large pot of Earl Grey tea appeared along with a tray with two mugs, saucers, napkins and knives, sandwiches, hot scones, butter and jam. Angharad relaxed a bit more at the sight of this, although to look at her one would not have known she was even nervous in the first place. Like her Head of House she was very disciplined about what she revealed of herself and how and to whom she revealed it even at such a young age. She had her reasons for doing so as did he.

There was an unusually comfortable silence as Severus poured tea and handed Angharad her mug. The only light in his office came from the fire in the fireplace and one of the strategically placed torches around the room. Given his current seeming uncharacteristic cordiality the mood was almost intimate. Severus was impressed with her impeccable manners and how Angharad carried herself, though it was not ever his way to be impressed with any of the students he'd had to teach, whether they were in his House or not, or even with teaching itself since Hogwarts students did not appreciate his efforts to educate them or share his love of potions.

They spoke about the schools she'd attended and her coursework. She'd had an extra-curricular interest in astronomy. She was such a keen astronomer that a state-of-the-art telescope was being sent to her. According to a personal note in her file, her parents had arranged this with Professor McGonagall who would pass it onto Professor Snape for her along with some other things that were of personal interest including something called a laptop, which would require modifications in order to function in spite of the magical complications of the School which usually prevented Muggle technology from working.

Unlike one Marietta Edgecombe, Angharad had gone to schools for gifted children and done special summer courses geared towards high achievers at the behest of her parents. Such schools and programs were still quite unusual for Britain for the most part, even though they had been the norm in other parts of the world for the past two decades. But Angharad was very fortunate and was quite humble about her abilities and the opportunities she'd had. Her parents had very high expectations of her and she couldn't disappoint them in any way.

They spoke at length about Muggle Chemistry and Potions. Angharad had read the whole of the first-year texts and had purchased some rather advanced tomes that included the spells and brews of the remainder of the Hogwarts curriculum during her first visit to Diagon Alley after she had received her letter. Professor Snape was quite impressed with his student. 'However, reading a book is no substitute for practical exploration and application I assure you Miss Serpentarius,' he said firmly.

'I am well aware of that Professor, but heaven forbid you ask a question of me tomorrow that I don't have the answer to,' Angharad said with a slight smile as she refilled his mug for him and then her own empty one. 'I would not want to leave you with the mistaken impression that I spent the entire summer being lazy, and neither would my parents. I am like that with all my classes, but especially the ones that interest me most. Besides, I _am_ quite fascinated by Potions – it's not dissimilar to Chem I think, though I haven't been able to study that as long as I would have liked. We only started last year with the elements tables and some basic compositions. I want to learn as much as I can with Potions though. I really get into researching anything that really interests me.'

Inwardly Snape smiled to himself. So she _did_ love learning for its own sake; not because she had anything to prove because of any insecurity she might have or because she was a show-off. Angharad was the kind of student of which a teacher's dreams are made of. He had thought so, given what he had read of her student records and Professor McGonagall's personal notes. And such a rare student was in his own House and genuinely interested in Potions rather than foolish wand-waving or silly incantations.

The Potions Master asked her some intricate and probing questions for another hour to see how much Angharad _had_ actually read and comprehended from the books that she mentioned. Her ability to analyse and cross-reference against theory was breathtaking. She even managed to shock Severus by revealing her knowledge of a number of forbidden remedies that were outlawed by the Ministry of Magic. These acted as counteragents to some of the more dangerously complex brews in the NEWT curriculum which he'd quizzed her about as they had progressed beyond the standard first year curriculum.

'So, you have discovered the murky world of the Dark Arts already,' he said. 'I take it that you were brave enough to foray into Knockturn Alley.' He was not going to disapprove. Not in the slightest. He himself had known more about the Dark Arts than anyone he'd been at the School with when he was even younger than she was. And he had made his first trip to Knockturn Alley when he was only eight years old.

'Well, I think about becoming a MediWitch or a Healer when I'm finished here. And how else would I find about cures for what might ail me or anyone else?' Angharad asked matter-of-factly. 'A lot of these are banned unnecessarily; well that's my opinion anyway – not that it matters much. They can maim or kill, yes, but they are also very effective cures as well. It's like magic. It can be 'light' or 'dark'. It's not what you know; it's how you use what you know is it not?' She looked at Severus with a penetrating inquisitiveness as she spoke.

'Very good, Miss Serpentarius,' Snape replied with a rare smile as he gave her a nod. Angharad had already learned the most important lesson of all to be learned with magical practices. There were many grown Wizards and Witches who still had yet to learn it.

Angharad looked at him with flashing eyes and gave him the first real smile he'd seen of her since laying eyes on her in the Great Hall. It seemed to wrap itself around him as much as her voice had.

'How are you getting on with the others?' he asked softly. 'Are they treating you all right?'

'Fair enough,' came her cautious reply as she refilled his cup. 'The jury is still out with a few. It's only been a few hours and I am not usually one to make a snap judgment about anyone if I can help it.'

Snape noted in his mind that Angharad did not look at him when she said it.

'It is with great reluctance that I must tell you that the Wizarding world is just as prejudiced as the one that you come from,' he said. 'You are bound to face certain difficulties because of your origins. Particularly from some within your own House.'

Angharad's face visibly changed and the warmth which had been steadily increasing in her countenance as they spoke seemed quite diminished.

'You mean because I am what this world calls a Muggleborn….a _Mudblood_,' she replied bitterly looking away from him. 'I can handle myself, Professor. I will just have to deal with it and get on. It's all I can do.' She seemed quite resigned to the open prejudice and hostility which she might face. She'd had enough of it before, why should Hogwarts be any different. People were people no matter where you went in the world.

Inwardly the Potions Master actually flinched at hearing that word uttered from her lips and at seeing the wounded yet angry expression on her face. Angharad had obviously taken pains to research some of the unvarnished truths about the world in which she was being so unexpectedly thrown. And she obviously had been a victim of the subtle and virulent forms of racism in her world. She had dropped her formidable guard for just the briefest of moments and it was written all over her face.

'If you have any problems, whether they are particularly pressing or not, come to me,' he said as he refilled her empty cup and put two more of the piping hot scones on her saucer. 'You can talk to me about whatever you wish. That is what I am here for.'

Angharad gave a small resigned laugh and cocked her left eyebrow as she looked at him.

'You know as well as I do, Professor, that no one likes a crybaby. Nobody tolerates a snitch,' she said. 'And I don't really think you want to be bothered with that sort of thing.'

'I will not tolerate that within my own House against one of our own,' Snape replied sharply. 'I would be most displeased if you kept it to yourself, Miss Serpentarius, and particularly if I have occasion to learn of such behaviour well after the fact of its occurrence!'

Angharad reluctantly nodded 'yes'.

They had more tea and scones in a comfortable silence. The pot of tea and other plates and pots kept refilling themselves. Their mutual appetite was quite extraordinary given the dinner they'd already had. Then again, neither one of them had managed to eat very much.

Angharad was brave enough to ask Professor Snape about his own studies as a student. She had been told that he'd been a student here as well and in this very House. Severus was surprised to find that he was quite alright with discussing his own coursework and level of ability at her age and throughout his academic career here. She was quite easy to talk to and their conversation ebbed and flowed depending on the topic of conversation.

After some time eating once again in silence, Angharad caught a glance at her watch. It was 1:30am.

'Oh my god, I am so sorry Professor! It won't happen again!' she said after telling him the time.

'Has it _really_ been that long?' Snape asked incredulously. 'Merlin's Beard, you should have been in bed some time ago! I will have to escort you to your dormitory. Curfew was at nine pm for you.' He himself had to be up even earlier than she as it was the first day of classes.

Angharad went to stand and found that she couldn't; her legs had fallen asleep. She sank back down into the chair and rubbed her legs and feet to bring feeling back in them.

'Here, take note,' Snape commented as he pointed his wand. _'Contorto!' _

The pins and needles feeling in Angharad's legs disappeared and they were strengthened so that she could regain movement quite quickly.

'Thank you, Professor. But, I don't think that is in any of the standard books of spells?'

'No it isn't, Miss Serpentarius. That was an example of using the Dark Arts to heal. Had my intent been anything other than healing, you would have been painfully crippled. _Permanently_.'

Angharad smiled and gave him a nod. 'Very good, Professor Snape. Quite impressive.'

'Wait here,' said Severus as he gave her a look and then smiled back at her in spite of himself for her daring in quoting his own words back at him in exactly the same fashion as he had spoken them. Had it been anyone else they would have faced detention with himself and possibly Filch for a month and a 50 point deduction from their House.

It was something he did not usually take kindly to even from Slytherins; although none of them had ever been brave enough to do such a thing to his face. Professor Snape knew his manner and silky baritone of a voice was the source of much amusement behind his back. Supposedly Marcus Flint could do a spot-on imitation of him.

He walked into one of the two antechambers off of his office and came back with a book. A very rare and invaluable book that had been banned by the Ministry of Magic.

'_Healing Through Curses and Hexes,'_ Angharad read aloud. 'It looks like it's quite rare,' And also very appropriate for her, all things considered.

'It is; and also very much banned. Keep it hidden away. We can review the content and practical applications at the end of each chapter if you wish. Once we are finished with that we will move onto other texts.'

'Thank you very much Professor, I would like that a lot.'

'Kindly do not mention the book or our time together to anyone else,' Snape said quietly as he escorted her protectively through the labyrinth of dark and rather sinister halls of their part of the School in the wee hours of the morning. He said it as a matter of record although he knew he did not have to tell her this. 'And Miss Serpentarius, do not _ever_ leave your wand behind again. Not even within the School. It should be with you at _all_ times; is that understood?'

'Yes, Sir,' replied Angharad solemnly suddenly realising that she had probably made a grave mistake. Her wand was in the bottom drawer of her night-table next to his note.

'I know that this is all new to you. I will help you as much as I can, even with mundane practicalities, if you allow me to,' Professor Snape replied gently.

He had sounded quite harsh and had not meant to. Normally he did not bother caring about the effect of his speech or manner on anyone else. Nor had he ever made such an effort with students settling in outside of the yearly Start-of-Term gathering, the Slytherin Fall Fest, which he let them have in the Common Room after dinner. It served as an exercise of House spirit more than anything else and had another counterpart, the Slytherin Spring Spree. Such matters were details for only those in his House.

This was different; very different and completely unexpected.

'And I will call you by your given name during our project time together going forward. Your surname is much too cumbersome.'

'Sir, if you don't mind... I prefer to be called _Selena,_ please...'

'Why?'

'If you were me and had my first name what would you do?'

'I see nothing wrong with it myself.'

'You don't? You actually like it?'

'_"Angharad" _has a certain elegance, Miss Serpentarius. Don't sell yourself short.'

Snape would look back on this statement this in the years and shake his head at the irony of her name, given the role she would take on in his life. Angharad meant "loved one", Serpentarius _'He Who Holds The Snake'_ and is 'The Healer' noted for their skill in curing the bites of poisonous serpents. For the classical Greeks, the serpent was the symbol for venom – the poison that can both cure and kill.

'Yes, Sir,' Angharad replied respectfully.

Inside she was very pleased. So this was not going to be a one-off. She was happy to learn all she could from Professor Snape and she did not care about her surname. Her whole name was one horror-filled nightmare. Things could be worse. She could have been named _Moon-Unit_, _Dweezil_ or _Zowie_ like certain celebrity children in the Muggle world. Still, there were even worse names than hers in the Wizarding world if _'Hogwarts, A History'_ was anything to go by.

Little would she have believed that Professor Snape would one day would ask Angharad to call him by his given name in their private time together. He would have to admit to himself and to her that all this extra-curricular project work was also important to him so that he could simply be alone with her, because his interest had developed beyond the usual proprieties of a student-teacher relationship.

A point in time when _both_ could admit that their project time had really developed into private time in every intimate sense of the word.


	2. Slytherins don't cry

**Plot, new characters, new magical terms and abilities etc. are my intellectual property. If you want to borrow then please kindly ask. JK Rowling's characters and Wizarding Universe are all uniquely hers.**

**Summary:**__**Severus Snape decides to have a life and tries to let go of his past while serving out the debt owed to Dumbledore.**

**Bring Me To Life by NativeMoon – REPOST with edits**

**Chapter 2: Slytherins Don't Cry**

_Year 2 – towards the end of term before the Summer Holidays_

Professor Snape was both pleased and relieved to see that that his instincts in pursuing his extra-curricular activities with Angharad had not been misplaced. She was as diligent in those studies as she was with her coursework. Many were the nights when he would be either coming to or emerging from his office to find her in rapt concentration over the simmering fumes of her cauldron. By the time she was ready to sit the entry exams for the Ministry's MediWitch programme she would be quite formidable indeed.

He would have to escort her back to the dormitories; Angharad lost all track of time consumed by her favourite subject and her projects with him. The only times when this did not happen was when she was forced to serve detentions with Professor McGonagall through no fault of her own. Severus found that he missed her company down in the dungeons when this happened.

Most important to him was she was the model of discretion without him having to ever discuss it with her. On the rare occasion that anyone had asked, Angharad always said that Astronomy, Potions, Arithmancy and Transfiguration were challenging subjects for her and that she needed to do tutorials to keep her grades up. She lied through her teeth and was the model of innocence as she did so. She was able to pursue her outside projects with Professor Snape without interference.

Snape had been most surprised the first time he had heard her give her excuse; and to Draco Malfoy of all people when he had barged into the Potions classroom unexpectedly to see what she was up to out of sheer nosiness. His Godson, being as dim as he was with academic matters, took it at face value. Were it not for his father, the Potions Master would have not had any qualms about forcing young Master Malfoy to serve detentions and do Remedial Potions.

Young Master Malfoy had no appreciation for academics. So much so that Professor Snape had wondered on more than once occasion to himself why the boy was even at Hogwarts. With the wealth of his family a Wizarding education at Hogwarts was not a requirement for him to get on in the world. It was only vocational, after all. And Draco knew it. Many students thought that his Godson was his favourite. Nothing could be further from the truth. But that was Snape's business, not theirs. He had no choice but to treat the spoiled rich boy with kid gloves. He did not like it, but it was a necessary evil.

Without her Head of House telling her, he saw that Angharad had the measure of the Malfoy heir and his little merry gang of Junior Death Eaters. She was more than clever enough to manage to stay on their good side, which was easy given their obsession with the rivalry of their House with Gryffindor; and she was a Slytherin. There were certain boundaries that would not be crossed with her as they were with Hermione Granger. Unwittingly, the majority of the House had seen to this and so there was no need for Professor Snape to step in – though he had no qualms about doing so were it required.

The Potions Master had marveled at the irony of her charade; of all the students at Hogwarts Angharad was the _least likely _to ever need tutoring or do Remedial Potions. One was more likely to find her discreetly helping her fellow Slytherins when they sought her out. She was not one to impose herself on anyone.

One who had great respect for her and her abilities was Marcus Flint, who had already been left back a year and needed good marks this second time around. Angharad did have a gift for teaching and for being extremely patient no doubt, because his grades were showing reasonable improvement. From what Snape himself knew directly, Flint really did appreciate the help, time and considerable patience she gave him. He was not one to make friends easily, but Flint did consider Angharad as one of his mates, long before she had ever done anything to help him.

'Angharad's a Top Bird, we are damn lucky we got her and not bloody Ravenclaw. They are all worked up because she challenges them and they don't like it – and that goes for Flitwick and McGonagall,' he had said to some other Slytherins, including Malfoy, in the Potions classroom before Angharad and the Gryffindors had arrived one afternoon just as he was heading off to his Transfiguration class. 'She won't take their shit and she stands up for us. Angharad gets into trouble for the rest of us just as much as she does because of that Edgecombe bitch and the rest of them being jealous. She was right – she wouldn't cross the street to piss on any of them if they were on fire and neither would I.'

Snape had had to come out from his office to calm them down because they were getting quite worked up over the escalating problems with Ravenclaw. But he had heard every word and agreed with them. It was not just him taking sides with his own House. Ravenclaw was clearly in the wrong. Except that no one else seemed to see it that way.

It was interesting to see her in practice in the Potions room. Angharad did not use a quill and parchment as was general the custom in the Wizarding world. She used a Muggle binder, notebook and pen and took very meticulous notes. She even used index-cards to cross-reference her details. It was the way she was accustomed to keeping herself meticulously organised and for her this made studying for exams far easier than dealing with loose bits of parchment rolls and cumbersome quills. She did not see the point in relying on such chaotic and antiquated methods.

She had purchased thick Muggle notebooks, binders, ball-point pens and laser paper for her printer in Edinburgh when she met her brother on the odd occasion; most of the time he and their parents sent things to her through her Head of House. Professor McGonagall did not approve of her unusual methods and had even gone to Professor Snape to formally complain. She did not appreciate the young Slytherin 'marching to the beat of her own drummer'.

'Professor Snape, it is most inappropriate,' she said. 'I don't care what she is used to; it is not the way that things are done here. Indulging her Muggle technology and personal interests are one thing; we do that with most of them in the School so there is no reason why she can't. But deliberately flouting the rules about her coursework is quite another!'

'_Professor_, were it me coming to you with a _legitimate_ complaint about Marietta Edgecombe or Hermione Granger, as I have had to do _so often_, the matter would be dropped!

'That is outrageous! You know full well that I am the most impartial of all the staff! God's knows how many points I have taken off my own House unlike the rest of you!'

'This is not about me, Headmistress! I suggest that you drop this particular line of reasoning,' hissed Severus. 'And no, you are _not_ as impartial as you believe yourself to be. Not with Edgecombe when it comes to how she treats Miss Serpentarius and you and I both bloody well know it!'

'Severus do I need to remind you that Miss Serpentarius told Miss Edgecombe that she would not cross the road to piss on her even if she were on fire?!'

'And do I need to remind you that Miss Edgecombe had taken it upon herself to constantly refer to Miss Serpentarius as _'That Vile Slytherin Trash' _and deliberately picks fights for which YOU make Miss Serpentarius serve detention and take points ONLY from Slytherin House when she is forced to defend herself because ignoring such ludicrous jealous bullying behaviour does not work with this particular of your favourite students no matter how clever and intelligent they fancy themselves to be!' yelled Severus. 'She can't make a move without someone from Ravenclaw having a go at her and even your own House at times – usually because of Edgecombe!'

'Are you going to sort this out or aren't you?' McGonagall hissed dangerously.

As Deputy Headmistress she could force him. But Minerva McGonagall did not want to go _that_ far. There were enough problems between their Houses as it was. It did not need to be all out war amongst the staff as well.

'Minerva, does Miss Serpentarius do the work that she is expected to do?' Snape asked politely.

'Yes.'

'Does she hand it in on time?'

'Yes.'

'Does she give the required lengths using her own methods?'

'Yes,' same the reply through an irritable sigh.

'Have any of the other staff come to you with complaints about how she prepares her assignments and takes notes in their courses?'

'No,' Professor McGonagall answered grudgingly.

'Not even Flitwick?'

'Not even Flitwick,' McGonagall spat at the sight of Severus' smirk

She knew damn well that the rest of them preferred Miss Serpentarius' methods. They had told her so when she made what she thought were discreet enquiries. Snape was well aware of what McGonagall had done as he had been told by Professors Sinistra and Vector.

'Are her academics to standard?' Severus asked politely.

'Well above average – some best marks in the entire School. Even better than Miss Edgecombe without all the extra unnecessary rolls of parchment that she does which no one ever asks for or wants to read.'

Professor McGonagall was just as irritated by it as Professor Snape. The only ones who really tolerated it were Flitwick and Binns.

'However annoying it happens to be, you _do_ give Edgecombe extra points as well as Granger, you and everyone else that indulges this particular violation of accepted academic practices particularly as it adds no extra value to the work – _considerably extra_, and this always throws the curve. This is not fair to the other students,' Snape commented smoothly. 'You and I both know that Miss Serpentarius will be denied the merits she has rightly earned at the expense of that insufferable sneaky show-off from Ravenclaw!'

Professor McGonagall looked like she could throw an Unforgivable his way. She had nothing to say for a change so Professor Snape took the advantage and ran with it.

'Is there anything in the School Charter that says that all work must be done on parchment and using a quill?' he asked, ignoring the icy glares he was getting from her.

'What are you playing at, Severus?'

'Again I put it to you since I was apparently was not clear enough the first time:_ is there anything in the School Charter that says that all course work must be done on parchment and using a quill?_'

'Well, of course there isn't!' said McGonagall exasperatedly.

'Then the matter is resolved,' Snape commented coldly. 'Miss Serpentarius is doing everything required of her to well above average standards and is not only top of her class, she is Joint Valedictorian with Miss Granger or will be so long as yourself and the Headmaster do not fiddle with the averages again at the end of term!. I see no logical reason why _how_ she does her work should be of concern to you – _so long as she does it_!'

McGonagall looked like she wanted Professor Snape's head on a stick.

'Is there anything else?' Snape asked dismissively. 'If not, then I suggest we end this and the next time Edgecombe can come see myself and Miss Serpentarius directly rather than getting you and Flitwick to do her dirty work. At least my student does not run crying to me only to hide behind my robes!'

Professor McGonagall turned abruptly on her heels and stalked out of the room.

Snape had not been aware until recently just how bad things were for Angharad outside of Slytherin House. She had deliberately kept it from him, determined to stand up for herself and resolve her own problems. She did not want to burden him she had said when he confronted her. She felt he had enough on his plate without her adding to it.

The Potions Master did not know whether to hug her or give her detention.

He settled for another late-night heart-to-heart in his office.

**xxxOOOxxx**

_The last night before the Summer Holidays_

Professor Snape handed Angharad her customary mug of tea as she sat curled up by the fireplace across from him in an ankle-length lavender cotton skirt and a short white button-up shirt. It could be boiling hot outside as it had been that afternoon but it was always freezing cold down here.

She was on the floor leaning against her usual chair and was barefoot. Snape was doing the same with his long legs stretched out in front of him, albeit with his boots still on. At the age of 14 Angharad was developing into a lovely young woman. She looked anything but the teenager that she was. She was getting tall and had long legs that were very visible through her thin skirt. Her body had developed quite a bit over the past year or so and she was slowly developing a remarkable grace and confidence. This maturity set her apart even more from those who disliked her.

Their latest project lay untouched on the floor. The Potions Master had been careful not to have her out past curfew too often recently. On the nights when she had been whether by accident or design, he did what he knew best and cast some powerful spells so that she was not missed and they were not discovered. Tonight was no exception.

'I am nothing but trouble,' she sighed. 'I'm so sorry Professor.'

'It's not your fault. And the House knows it. We are all as fed up with this nonsense as you are.'

'Really?'

'_Really,'_ Snape said gently. 'No one blames you. You have been unnecessarily punished for someone else's insecurities and jealousy.' He could see that she did not believe it and that she genuinely felt bad about the points they had lost over the past year because of the Edgecombe problem.

'I don't understand it. I go out of my way to avoid her and not be a part of her problem. But it's me that always gets the blame,' said Angharad vehemently. 'I'm just so tired of it. I thought Malfoy would be the bully and he's turned out alright. She puts on her act and Flitwick and McGonagall always fall for it and we end up being the bad guys. Even when it's fair and square we don't get our due with Ravenclaw or Gryffindor…like the House cup last year. Professor Dumbledore deliberately taking it away from us and giving Gryffindor all those extra points for something that had nothing to do with academics or anything else that's relevant.

They can lie and cheat and steal as much as they like and no one bats an eyelash, but if it's Slytherin all hell breaks loose. Gryffindors always break all the rules just to see how much they can get away with, because they know they will never be held accountable. Edgecombe knows it and she is just as bad as despite her protestations to the contrary. I am fed up with the hypocrisy, especially from the Headmaster. I can't even get my due academically thanks to him and McGonagall. Malfoy is not half the problem that Edgecombe is and that's saying something.'

Angharad took a breath and looked down at her feet, frowning as she did so. 'I'm sorry. I should not have lost my temper like that,' she said. 'I shouldn't be bothering you with this.'

'It's fine; you are more than justified in your assessment of the situation. I have had words with Professor McGonagall and unfortunately. I don't expect next term will be any different in that regard,' Severus sighed.

He got an unexpected smile from her and once again it wrapped itself around him just as her voice and calmness usually did.

'Words? I heard it was more like a Boxing match,' said Angharad. 'Thanks for sticking up for me.'

It was the Potions Master's turn to smile.

'I always will,' he said quietly. 'I am proud of you; at how you handle yourself, at the young lady you are and the woman you are becoming. But I want you to talk to me. You should never feel that have to bear this alone, whether you want me to get directly involved or not. I am most displeased that I was left in the dark for so long.'

'I'm sorry. I was just doing what I thought was best. It's not in my nature to be a coward or go running to anyone else. I was just grateful that my problems weren't from within our House to be honest. Besides I am sure you have enough on your hands with Malfoy and his Gryffindor and Quidditch obsessions. _And Harry Potter._'

'I won't lie to you; I had rather expected some problems with you from Malfoy and some of the others myself. But it's because of Flint that they have left you alone. He has more than a bit of a soft spot for you I think and he will not have a bad word said against you. Malfoy looks up to him and Flint's been one of the better influences in the House, especially since your arrival.

Angharad noticed that he did not look at her when he relayed this shocking bit of information. 'We are just friends,' she replied cautiously. 'But yes, Flint's alright. He's been very nice to me; hasn't made a move or tried anything, not once. None of them have.'

'Just friends?' Snape asked equally cautiously as he looked down at the tea tray near him. 'Most of the others are pairing off, even with other Houses; I would have thought you would be beating them back with some well-aimed hexes.'

Angharad looked at him with a penetrating gaze as she took the Chocolate Chip biscuit that he handed her. Severus always managed to have some of her favourite things to hand as they worked. He held back from meeting her gaze directly and it did not escape her notice. She caught the inference that he thought she was beautiful, but Snape being Snape he would never openly admit to such a thing. And when he did it hint at how he regarded her, it would always be as obliquely as possible.

'I get on with the House alright, but I'm not quite on the same wavelength with most them. And the other Houses seem to be in the Gryffindor camp so I am quite isolated from them. Even if that were not the case none of them interest me. Blaise says I am _'too damn serious'_. I need to _'Reeellllaaaaxxx and take a chill pill'_.

Angharad did a drop-dead imitation of Blaise Zabini, who was probably the closest thing she had to a best friend in the house. He was the source of endless laughs for her and the rest of the House and was one of those that routinely sought her out just to talk. The Potions Master knew that she had acquired a reputation for being quite sensible, insightful and down-to-earth. If there was one student knew all that was going on within the House, that everyone came to for all manner of things, it was Angharad. Every House had someone like that who was not necessarily a Prefect. It just so happened that she was it for Slytherin; it was quite a remarkable achievement for someone going into their Third Year.

'You are light years ahead of the rest of them; it must be difficult for you,' Professor Snape said quietly after he had laughed at her perfect mimicry of the funniest student in the House. Angharad always made him smile or laugh somehow when they were alone. Other than that he never did.

He looked at his favourite student as she stared into the fire. She was bathed exquisitely in the golden light of it and he restrained an impulse to reach out and move her hair back so he could see more of her face. Snape was used to her tendency to hide behind her hair in this way when she definitely did not want him to see what she was thinking or feeling. Only rarely did she seem to need to do this and it was at these moments that he had no doubt that whatever was going on deep inside her was quite serious.

As Angharad sat across from him staring in the fire she wondered why it was that she seemed to be destined to not have anyone for herself. She had so much to give, but none of her classmates was right for her. Not one of them really understood her or even tried to. Not even Blaise. Her age be damned, what she felt, how she was and how she thought was far beyond that of the average 14-year-old Hogwarts student.

She knew it.

And so did Snape.

'I will be alright,' she said softly as she looked at Snape with a fleeting rueful smile. 'I am sure you don't need to hear my whinging or my nonsense. I know you have had enough real problems of your own with all that business with Harry Potter over the past couple of years without me adding to them.'

The Potions Master gave her a slight smile. 'You don't miss a thing, do you Angharad,' he said softly.

'Nope, don't want to either,' she replied with glistening eyes. She was feeling emotional for some reason and swallowed the remainder of her tea to get rid of the lump in her throat.

It did not work.

She turned her head towards the fire again.

As Snape looked at her he felt a sharp tug in his stomach. He downed the rest of his tea and took another biscuit, refusing to consider it as anything more than a hunger pang. But he guessed correctly that she was holding back. For his sake more than her own. He understood it because he was the same way with her.

'Who do you talk to Professor,' Angharad asked quietly ending another length of comfortable silence. She willed her voice not to crack from the emotions raging inside her.

'What?' he asked quietly, only slightly taken aback. From anyone else it would have been an unusual question. But not Angharad. She was the only one who ever seemed to take an interest in him and his work. Her interest was extending to his troubles.

'I burden you with my rubbish – who else do you have to talk to about…about all of _that_,' she said gravely.

'You are not a burden to me, Angharad. Not in the slightest,' said Severus.

Angharad sat quietly looking up into his black eyes as she waited for his answer. Severus knew her well enough to know he could never fob her off with anything less than the truth. He had tried to lie to her several times and each time it felt…wrong.

He furrowed his brows as he thought of what to say to her and as he did so the line between them deepened. He had no one. Severus was extremely isolated and even Dumbledore did not bother with him unless it was something to do with the School or Harry Potter. Angharad was becoming the closest thing he would ever have to a friend. However, Severus could not bring himself to admit this. It would be most improper.

Angharad correctly guessed what his answer would be and he knew that she had sussed him out, as tended to be their way with each other.

'Never mind,' she said. 'It was inappropriate of me to ask you such a thing. It won't happen again.'

'I don't mind,' Snape replied quietly. And he was telling the truth. He did not mind. What he really wanted to say was he was glad he at least had her to talk to – but erred on the side of propriety and stayed silent. It was enough that she had correctly gauged him as she always did. He did not need to tell her. It was uncanny the way she always seemed to just _know. _Even with her questions – it was as if she was psychic. He would not be surprised if she did have genuine ability, however rare. After all, the Sorting Hat did say she had some rather _remarkable_ abilities.

The project was forgotten as the two companions now sat side by side in front of the dying embers of the fire. The temperature had dropped considerably and the Potions Master took off his frock coat and put it around her shoulders before adding more logs to the fire and stoked it. Angharad put it on, and wrapped herself in the comfort of the one person who was emerging as a very important part of her life.

Each realised in this moment that they would miss each other's company in the coming months. Of all Hogwarts students Angharad was not particularly excited about the summer holiday at all. And for his part, Snape did not want to see her go. Normally he could not wait to see the back of any of them. But not her.

'I'm going to miss this, a lot,' Angharad said softly but with great daring in the darkness of the room.

Snape blinked and then looked down at where his empty mug was. He could not be bothered to refill it.

'And I will miss it too – very much so,' he said quietly as he absently tapped the book which had not been picked up since they sat down. Each knew that what was really being said was that they would miss each other. Neither could have spent as much time as they did with the other had they not gotten on very well.

They would make the most of their last night together before Angharad left for home in the following day. The companions would be together until the wee hours of the morning.

The room had brightened up some more. The only other light coming from the moonlight streaming in its two small windows. They sat close to each other in the moonlight which was strong enough to reach to where they were seated.

Giving Angharad his frock coat had been the equivalent of giving her the comfort he knew she needed and could not ask for; the comfort which he could not give to her even if she had.

Whenever he caught the scent of her cinnamon-y, vanilla-y essential oil blend on his coat, Snape would be reminded of her and this last night together over the summer break.

Dark times had again emerged for him with a vengence and it would be the only thing that comforted him until Angharad's return in mid-September.

.


	3. Blue Moon

**Plot, new characters, new magical terms and abilities etc. are my intellectual property. If you want to borrow then please kindly ask. JK Rowling's characters and Wizarding Universe are all uniquely hers.**

**Summary:**_** AU **_If he was the question then she was the answer to that question. Severus Snape tries to let go of his past while serving out the debt owed to Dumbledore.

**Bring Me To Life by NativeMoon – REPOST with edits**

**Chapter 3: Blue Moon**

_Year 3 – After the DADA Class on Boggarts & Before Professor Snape's Stint as DADA Substitute_

Angharad went back to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom even though the Slytherins had just come from their lesson with Professor Lupin. It had been their last class for today, so there was plenty of time. Some things were too important to be rushed and at this time of day there was also less likely to be an interruption.

She walked in and noticed that the door to Professor Lupin's office was open. She took the steps up to it two at a time.

'_Professor Lupin,' _she said in her velvety whisper of a voice. _'Can I have a word please?'_

It never failed to overwhelm him. The young woman herself was quite astonishing in his mind. The more he got to know of her, the more he could not understand the intense dislike that Marietta and some of her friends had for her.

'Of course,' said Professor Lupin cheerfully.

He was always pleasant and quite endearing to Angharad and encouraged her to talk to him. He was not going to pass judgment on her or hate her just because some Ravenclaws did. Remus had become aware of the situation between Angharad and Marietta Edgecombe from an off-handed comment by Hermione Granger to Harry Potter and had been shocked. Hermione didn't really know Marietta, so she couldn't really say anything to her. But her thinking was that none of the bullies knew Angharad enough to even have a reason to dislike her as they did.

Professor Lupin had actually caught Marietta in the act of abusing the young Slytherin and had taken 20 points off of Ravenclaw because of it. As far as he was concerned the Ravens as a House should get behind helping to resolve this problem which stemmed from one of its own. Taking points was the only way that they would get the message. And they had got the message all right. Marietta had been a lot less smug in the aftermath of having her most of own House turn on her as she kept losing them points.

Angharad stepped into his office and closed the door behind her.

'I need to talk to you Professor, and it's very serious. It's not a conversation meant for anyone else except ourselves,' she said.

'Is this about Marietta?'

'No, there are more important things in this world than her jealousy and insecurities. I won't waste my time or my breath on that situation, _I have had enough._'

"_Not to mention," she thought to herself. "If it was it most certainly wouldn't be **you** that I'd go to about it!"_

'You say that, but I know you must need to talk about it from time to time,' Lupin commented with concern.

'This is not about her! Can you just drop it please?!'

'Well, take a seat. I'm all ears.'

Lupin came from behind his desk and sat next to her on the window seat as he always did. He enjoyed her company, and often felt very guilty for it. The angel on his shoulder told him it was not right to seek companionship with someone of her age. But his was a very lonely and isolated life and Angharad was one of the few had been very kind to him right from the start and did not seem to care about his impoverished state. He could talk to her like a man talks to a woman, something that had been missing most of his adult life. His mind told him one thing and his heart told him another. Sometimes Lupin wondered if it was because deep down he desperately needed to be liked to make up somehow for what he was; so that perhaps people would not hate him and turn on him once the truth was out. In this case he knew that had nothing to do with it. Nothing at all.

Even though the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor knew that he did feel something and that Angharad did seem to genuinely be fond of him; there was a barrier that he could not get past. It was as if she let him in, but only just for a bit before building a wall between them. He chalked it up to the fact that he was her teacher – after all it was not appropriate that he even think about her in such terms. The difference in their ages wasn't a concern; in many wizarding families she would have been betrothed long before now.

There also was the not-so-small matter of his affliction.

He had not even thought about that before he fell in love with her.

Even though she might be fond of him there was no guarantee that Angharad could accept that part of him. And being with someone like Lupin – well it did not happen that often. It was a singularly rare and open-minded person that pursued a relationship with someone like him. So far he had not ever met anyone. But Angharad would be of age in a year's time and there was life after Hogwarts. Not that long in the scheme of things. He could wait as long as it took to find out if there was any real hope. But she had this wall built up that he struggled to get past brick by brick just to get to know her, nothing more than that, and he was not getting very far.

'So, what's this all about then?' Lupin asked. 'You look so grave. Unusually so, in fact. Is there something wrong?'

He always worried about Angharad and the bullying she had to put up with. Lupin had to hand it to her, if he had not caught Marietta in the act he would have never guessed. Angharad handled herself well. He had never encountered someone who really was a woman stuck with a teen's age. She could have been 30 rather than the 15 years that she had to her life. Her maturity and fierce intellect had made her stand out right from the beginning. Marietta could not match it; and he suspected that this was the heart of the matter.

Angharad herself was everything that Marietta had pretensions of being, and so much more. Not to mention being undeniably attractive – yes this was the classic green-eyed monster all right. And the fact that it was a Slytherin was just more salt in Marietta's festering wound. Merlin help Angharad had she been sorted into Ravenclaw. He had liked Marietta enough at first, but he had been very disappointed in her and told her so. Marietta herself had not been too fussed about it.

Lupin tapped the tea kettle which sat on a little table next to the window seat and it began to whistle from its now boiled water. He tapped the table and a plate of biscuits materialised.

'Can I offer you something?' he asked with a smile.

He already knew the answer to that, but always asked anyway. Angharad never accepted anything from him. And true to form, she declined, in this instance by a simple shake of her head. Lupin prepared himself a cup of tea and waited.

'You said I could talk to you about anything,' said Angharad.

'I meant it, Angharad. You can.'

'Even if it's personal?'

'Yes, even if it's personal,' he replied, thinking she meant something personal about herself. He really wanted to completely understand her desperately.

Angharad hesitated.

Lupin had an impulse to reach out and touch her arm but thought better of it.

'It's alright, I promise you,' he said gently.

'I need you to tell me the truth: _are you a werewolf_?'

The professor dropped his teacup and saucer and they shattered on the stone floor.

Angharad whipped out her wand and repaired the cup and saucer and vaporised the spilled tea, noting how panicked Lupin looked.

'I know what it is like to be on the outside looking in with people punishing you for who and what you are. I know how it is with people not understanding you at all and not wanting to. I am the _last_ person who will ever pass judgment on you. I give you my word I won't say anything to anyone. It does not matter to me, I think you are a brilliant teacher, and not because you had the guts to stand up for me and to keep taking points from the Ravens either.'

Professor Lupin did not know what to say.

'Your Boggart was the moon – and there is only one reason in this world I can think of to ever fear the moon Professor,' Angharad said calmly. 'I take it that the Headmaster the rest of the staff must know?'

'You really are something, Angharad,' Lupin said quietly.

'So I'm right, then; aren't I?'

The werewolf nodded in the affirmative before letting out a heavy sigh as if he had been holding his breath. S_he knew._ And she had not rejected him as others had when they found out. And she would not tell what she now knew. Of that he was most certain.

'I won't tell, Professor,' said Angharad. 'I promise you that. On my honour, and you know how important that is to me. If this gets out, it will not be through me. Although I think anymore hints about your situation and Hermione Granger at least will certainly figure it out if she hasn't already.'

Lupin chuckled. 'I wouldn't be at that surprised myself,' he said. 'But at least you can take heart.'

'About what?' asked Angharad, puzzled.

'That you figured it out and got to me first,' he replied with a smile.

**xxxOOOxxx**

_One Hogsmead Weekend in the Middle of the Term before Summer Break_

Severus cocked his head a bit and furrowed his brow as he approached the dungeons. There was the unmistakable sound of music and someone singing. And it was quite enchanting.

'Love is in the air', he thought grimly to himself. And a desire for something more. He wondered who in the School could sing like _that_? And in the dungeons of all places?

Whoever it was had an amazing voice. Severus was fussy about his musical tastes, but this he actually liked. There was a range of several octaves. But the only person who could be in the dungeons and not in Hogsmead with the rest of the students and staff was Angharad. Hogsmead or not she was always there for him. But surely she wasn't in love?!

He strode into the Potions classroom and stopped just inside the doorway.

To Severus' surprise it _was_ Angharad, lost in her own little world perched over her cauldron as usual. So lost was she that she did not realise he was standing there watching her sing as she watched the simmering ingredients in her cauldron. Her face was a revelation as much as her voice was as she sang.

_There you go  
Flashing fever from your eyes  
Hey baby  
Come over here and shut them tight_

_I'm not denying  
We're flyin' above it all  
Hold my hand  
Don't let me fall  
You've such amazing grace_

_I've never felt this way_

_Oh Ah Oh_

_Show me heaven  
Cover me  
Leave me breathless  
Oh Oh Oh  
Show me heaven please_

_Here I go  
I'm shakin' just like the breeze (oooohhhh)  
Hey baby  
I need your hand to steady me_

_Mmmmm I,  
I'm not denying  
I'm frightened as much as you  
Though I'm barely touching you  
I've shivers down my spine_

_Oh and it feels divine_

_Oh Ah Oh,  
Show me heaven  
Cover me  
Leave me breathless  
Oh Oh Oh,  
Show me heaven please, yeah_

If you know what it's like  
To dream a dream  
Baby hold me tight and let this be, yeah

_Oh Ah Oh,_

_Show me heaven  
Cover me (yeeeeeeeaaaaaahhhhhh)  
Oh Ah Oh,_

_Show me heaven  
Cover me  
Leave me breathless  
Oh Oh Oh,  
Show me heaven if you please_

_Ah Oh Oh_

_Ah Oh Oh_

_Show me heaven!_

_Show me heaven!_

_Leave me breathless!_

_Oh Ah Oh_

_Show me heaven_

_If you please_

_If you please_

_If you please_

_YeaaahhAaaaah,_

_Show me heaven, (Oh show me heaven)_

_Oh, show me heaven!_

_Oh, show me heaven!_

_Leave me breathless! (Leave me breathless)_

_Oh Oh Oh,_

_Show me heaven_

_If you please!_

_If you please!_

_If you please!_

_Oooohhhh_

_Oh, show me heaven (Oh show me heaven)_

_Heaven_ _Come on_

Angharad looked up and there was no doubting her surprise at seeing Professor Snape standing close to her now. He had unconsciously moved steadily closer to her as she sang, lost in what she was doing as much as Angharad herself was. She turned off her portable stereo that had been playing the CD of music she'd been singing to. It was a song she wrote with her brother. She had recorded the music with her brother's band the last time she went home for the weekend.

'_Oh, hello, Professor,'_ said Angharad. 'I'm sorry; I shouldn't be doing this down here…'

'No…it's quite alright,' replied Severus. 'I did not know you could sing…and certainly not like that.'

Angharad blushed bright red.

'Umm...It's nothing,' she said, feeling embarrassed as she looked down at her cauldron and gave her potion three precisely-timed counter-clockwise stirs.

'That was definitely something, Angharad. You are a woman of many talents.'

Angharad's heart skipped a beat at hearing that; just as Snape's skipped a beat when he said it.

'It's for Flint. A favour to help him with Natasha tonight when they get back,' said Angharad. 'I'm just helping him to express himself. He has a copy with my vocals. I had no idea he was so romantic. She's lucky girl to have someone care about her like that. I know that she will appreciate the gesture and the message itself.'

Deep down the Potions Master was relieved; _very_ relieved. And he made some mental notes to himself given what Angharad had just revealed to him. But how surprised he would have been had he known that Angharad wrote those lyrics because of him and that one evening they would slow dance to it.

'That is very kind of you,' he commented evenly. 'Flint is lucky to have you as a friend. Though he is well aware of it…_Natasha_?'

'Yep, _Natasha_,' said Angharad. 'They will have a good summer together. And a good future too. I'm happy for them.'

'So why are you hiding down here when you are supposed to be terrorising Hogsmead?' Snape asked, changing the subject now that his concerns had been answered.

'Because there is nowhere else than I would rather be than right here,' replied Angharad softly without guile as she looked up into his black eyes.

Professor Snape's eyes were anything but cold and empty as he looked at Angharad, whose attention was now back on stirring her potion. There was always warmth between them both and in his eyes for her when they were alone. In this moment there was something new in his eyes for her which she did not see – _tenderness_.

**xxxOOOxxx**

_Professor Lupin's Last Day Before Harry Potter Comes to See Him_

Remus looked up from packing his meager belongings. He'd felt like someone was watching him.

'Why are you doing this?' Angharad asked softly from the doorway to his office.

'I have to,' Lupin answered taken by surprise at her obvious upset. This was a revelation for someone who always kept their emotions and thoughts buried deep inside them… 'Now that _your House_ knows about what I am I don't have a choice.'

He wanted to be careful to not drive a wedge between Angharad and her Head of House and purposely did not mention Professor Snape. But from the looks of things she came straight to him the moment the word got out that he had resigned.

'Yes, you do,' said Angharad as she walked in and stood in front of him. 'You can stay, we need you! Defense Against the Dark Arts has never been so good as it has been this year!'

'You know as well as I do that it's best I go,' the former Professor replied gently. He knew that there would be more than a few at Hogwarts that would be quite happy to see the back of him.

'No, _I don't! _I don't think you should just walk away without a fight.'

'Well, that's the problem you see. I don't have it in me to fight…and not over this…'

'_So the haters win – is that it?' _

'This isn't about winning or losing! This is my life Angharad, not yours! It's easy for you to have noble ideas about a situation you cannot possibly understand!'

'Oh I understand alright! You love playing the martyr – it suits you down to the ground! Poor put upon Remus Lupin who just _has_ to offer himself up as a sacrifice! Nobody is going to respect you for it! Dumbledore isn't forcing you to go – you are! _So what_ if there are people here who don't like you or who don't care about you at all?! You think no one else hurts from other people being ignorant and hateful and stupid? You haven't cornered the market on suffering!'

'_Don't even dare compare your situation with mine!'_

'There you go again… _you are so freaking blind_! This is not about _me_! Do you honestly think I lose any sleep over a fuckwit tosser like Marietta Edgecombe_?! I've had better people than her try to break me and over a lot worse than petty jealousy!_ If you knew me even half as well as you delude yourself in to thinking you do then you would know that! But how could you possibly know me when all you do is moan about the life you don't even try to change! Butter wouldn't melt in your mouth you hide so much of who you really are – even from yourself! You think you know everything; that you have everyone and everything figured out and yet you get it so bloody wrong!'

'Good luck to you with your…situation, _Miss Serpentarius!_'

'Right. So it's like _that_ now huh?'

Lupin didn't reply as he began throwing books into a large trunk.

'Good luck to you too…_Professor._ Oh, my bad – hardly appropriate to call you that now is it?!'

Angharad stormed from the room nearly knocking over a startled Draco Malfoy who had been evesdropping.

**xxxOOOxxx**

_Later that Night_

Angharad was in her customary spot in front of the fire. She hadn't said very much since coming into Severus' office and it worried him.

'I heard what happened today,' he began carefully as he stood by the lone window in his office.

'You heard what?'

'That you had an altercation with Lupin. Apparently you set him bang to rights in true Slytherin fashion.'

'Ahh Draco **again**, skulking about minding someone else's business. But it's true enough. I called the werewolf out on his phony martyr complex.'

'I didn't realise that you knew him so well.'

Angharad looked at the Potions Master who was turned away from her, his face shielded by his curtains of oily hair.

'Not like you,' she said firmly. _'__Never__ like you!'_

Snape didn't reply.

'Please look at me,' she pleaded.

When he didn't, she stood up and moved next to him at the window. He looked out straight ahead, his face it's usual unreadable mask but she could see his hands trembling slightly. She took his right hand into her left and threaded her fingers through his. She was nearly as tall as he was now and leaned her head on his shoulder for a moment. It was quite a daring move for the both of them.

'What kind of girl do you take me for?' she asked softly. 'I thought you knew me better than that.'

Severus turned to face her, his black eyes filled with the pain he would not give voice to.

'I'm...' he said quietly through a deep breath. 'I just… I thought…'

'Nevermind. Forget it. I should get back now. You don't have to walk me.'

Before the Potions Master could plead with her to stay, Angharad had gone.

_The last night before the Summer Holiday_

Snape had not seen Angharad outside of Potions class since_ that_ night. The Potions Master was a bundle of contradictions when it came to her. His feelings for her were just below the surface – only just. He did not realise it, but sooner rather than later his feelings would burst forth and he would be forced to confront them.

However, he did think her absence was because of all of the rumours going around the school and what people were saying about him. She was probably sick of him too just like everyone else, especially after what he had accused her of.

Angharad herself was well aware of her Head of House's bad side; she had seen it in Potions and had heard more than enough stories in her three years at Hogwarts. Everyone had a bad side; some people were very adept at fooling themselves that they did not. Especially in certain Houses that were not Slytherin. She also knew what a good and honourable man he was, despite all the rumours that were flying around about him, the werewolf and Sirius Black. "_Those Gryffindors really did talk too much_," she thought. Discretion was not one of their better virtues.

However, Angharad was acutely aware that she was the only one who cared enough to see Professor Snape's good points and to be patient enough understand him and work at a friendship. They had an unspoken understanding about this – just as they did with other things. It was the Professor's way of doing things and she would not begrudge him that.

Snape was on the verge of sending her a note when she appeared at his office door. He had hoped they would spend some time together before she left for the summer. He wanted at least one more night of comfort with the only person who could give it to him.

**OOO**

Angharad lay on her stomach on the throw rug in front of the fire in a lilac knee-length cotton skirt and white tank top. Her sandals were off and her legs were bare. They were in the middle of a roaring heatwave and all the students had erred on the side of comfort because it was so hot outside. Even the Headmaster had eased up and told them they did not have to wear their uniforms and robes. People had been passing out from the stifling heat of the heavy materials.

The dungeons were beyond freezing cold as usual. But they were not where students or staff wanted to beat the heat. A measure of how much Slytherin and Professor Snape in particular were disliked. Even Slytherins couldn't be bothered to come down here. The Common Room was cool enough and their dormitories were not too bad as they did not catch the sun.

Angharad did not mind having some natural air conditioning but this was ridiculous. The rest of the castle was not cool at all and she could not keep changing her clothes just to because she was coming to the dungeons. It would have looked odd if nothing else. She sat up for a moment and took her hair down from its ponytail and gave her head a slight shake; and then lay down on her stomach again. She had only had her hair up to beat the heat. There was no need for it down here.

'I was beginning to think you were avoiding me,' Snape said hesitantly as he drank in the sight of her getting comfortable.

Angharad turned over onto her back and looked up at him as he sat down right next to her.

'Why would I have to do that?' she asked incredulously.

'So you weren't then?' he asked cautiously as he looked down into her eyes.

'No, of course not…' she replied, clearly puzzled.

'I am sure you have heard some things,' the Potions Master commented, frowning. Though those things were nothing compared to the deep secrets and painful memories that still remained all his own. They were like a 50-tonne weight, dragging him down. Gods knows what Angharad would think of him if she knew. No, he mustn't tell her any of _that_. He would lose her most assuredly, he thought.

'You mean this business about Harry Potter, Sirius Black and Lupin. Yes I have. And I have my own mind – there's just been a lot going around in it for the past few days and I have been bone tired. It's no reflection on you or the shit-stirring of Gryffindor,' said Angharad. 'Excuse my language.'

'You would tell me if there was something wrong between us?'

'I think you know the answer to that by now surely.'

Snape did not have to say anything. Angharad correctly assessed that he had been worried that all this talk had driven a wedge between them. Especially all the ferocious bad-mouthing that was going on about him. God knows how he stood being talked about all day every day, she thought. Never a day went by without her hearing other people knock him down about one thing or another. It had been like that for the last three years. He was alone, very much alone, with no one who seemed to care about him, not even Snape himself.

'What I have heard does not change anything,' Angharad said quietly as she adjusted the cushions under her head. 'I don't care what anyone else thinks about you! I know better!'

Her Head of House looked at her rather solemnly. He'd one too many disappointments in his life and did not want losing her companionship to be yet another one. He was struggling as it is; and things were not getting easier to cope with. It was quite a revelation for Angharad as much as it was for Snape, this conversation and his countenance. The equivalent of a bomb being dropped.

Angharad reached out a hand and Severus took it unreservedly.

'I have heard all their bullshit for the last three years. And I'm no fool, I know what you're like, especially when your back is up – but _this_ is what I also know; more than anything _this_ is what matters to me,' she said softly as she looked up at him in the soft golden glow from the fireplace.

'You have not been around recently except for Potions,' Snape said quietly, though inside he was taken aback by the depth of the unreserved loyalty and understanding Angharad had for him.

'Did you miss this?' Angharad asked softly as she looked into his black eyes.

'As a matter of fact, I did,' he replied as he met her gaze.

'So did I.'

'Then you wont be staying away like that anymore?'

'No. Not if I can help it…and I promise I will talk to you when I can't.'

'Good,' Snape replied quietly as he resisted the urge to lie down next to her.

He settled for remaining sitting up right next to her. They both were fine with the silence between them. They did not always feel the need to speak. It was a measure of how far they had come with each other. He held Angharad's hand for the whole of that time, even as she fell asleep. She really was exhausted and he realised that he had been most unfair to her. He should have just come right out and asked her what was going on after Potions instead of almost starting a fight. She worked really hard with their outside projects and with a double load of classes. Even he had always been amazed at her stamina. She did all that and also spent many a late night up talking with him or just being with him. Sooner or later it had to give out and this was obviously one of those times.

The only time Snape let her hand go was when he took off his frock coat and put it over her. He took her hand in his again and was content to remain seated next to her, watching her tenderly as she slept peacefully in the dimness of the dying embers of the fire.

* * *

Note: The song is 'Show Me Heaven' by Tina Arena


	4. The Quidditch World Cup, Part I

**Plot, new characters, new magical terms and abilities etc. are my intellectual property. If you want to borrow then please kindly ask. JK Rowling's characters and Wizarding Universe are all uniquely hers.**

**Summary:**_** AU **_Severus Snape decides to have a life and tries to let go of his past while serving out the debt owed to Dumbledore.

**Bring Me To Life by NativeMoon – REPOST with edits**

**Chapter 4: The Quidditch World Cup, Part I**

_The Summer Between Year 3 and Year 4_

Angharad walked on the beach as the sun was starting to set. There were couples here there, lost in each other on their beach blankets or strolling along. She tried not to look at them, feeling once again that she was the outsider looking in. The crash of ocean waves seemed to mirror her own tempestuous mood. Still, the sea air had always been soothing for her and enabled her to think with a clear head.

She thought about her Head of House and wondered what he was doing and how he was getting on. There was a terrible weight on his shoulders, that much she knew, but just when it seemed that he would get close to opening up fully to her he would shut down. It literally was as if shutters came down over his eyes. He would draw her in, but then shut her out. She recognised it because she herself was exactly the same way.

Her mind wandered back to their last night together.

Their friendship had definitely stepped up a serious notch that night. Angharad was still shocked that he thought she'd fed into the School gossip and was avoiding him. That she felt the same way about him that the rest of them did and thus no longer wanted to spend time with him.

Even Slytherin loyalty probably only went so far with some in her House; she was no fool. But then she and the Professor had worked it all out. And despite this she knew something was seriously wrong with him, but he would not tell her. Severus Snape was not a man who did the easiest thing for himself that he could do.

But whatever it was, Professor Snape was not sharing. Angharad was astute enough to realise that he was a man a great complexity and conflictedness. He would never come out and tell her needed to see her, but he would obliquely hint at it or suggest it as was his way. He would never come right out with anything. The man was a mystery that begged to be solved.

And she'd impulsively reached out to him and he responded. And Angharad had been surprised to wake up under his frock coat and find Professor Snape still holding her hand at 3:00am. And the look in his eyes – until he realised that she was wide awake and staring at him in the moonlight. Down came the shutters again.

But, Professor Snape never let go of her hand. He had held it even as he escorted her back to the dormitory. The way he had been looking at her as they stood close to each other, face to face just at the entrance, like he wanted to say something or _**do**_ something – only to do an abrupt about face and reign it all in. It was as if a battle raged inside of him. Perhaps it was just her imagination that he had wanted to do more than just hold her hand.

Angharad had decided to just let it go and get on with their friendship. After all that is all it was at the moment. It was safer not to assume anything with Professor Snape given his rather mercurial personality and ways.

How shocked she would have been to know that as she walked along the beach and thought of Severus Snape, hundreds of miles away he was thinking of her and that last night together as he took a walk of his own near his childhood home in Cokeworth.

How relieved she would have been to know that beneath it all, despite what the devil on his shoulder was telling him, Severus Snape loved her – deeply.

**OOO**

Snape could not stand the stifling confines of his home in Spinner's End and had to get out. He wished he had in a position to ask Angharad to remain at Hogwarts for the Summer with the promise of more advanced Healing Through the Dark Arts. He could not just admit that he needed her. As usual, the Potions Master erred on the side of propriety and self-control.

Besides, what would he say to her? He could not tell her the truth about his past and what he had done. No, he could never do that. There was too much to loose. She would hate him, he knew she would. It did not occur to him to realise such thoughts were not quite right for someone who was only supposed to be merely a student. Snape still could not bring himself to admit that Angharad was more than that, much much more. She had never been 'merely a student' to him. He could talk to her about most things, the way a man talks to a woman. She was quite adept at handling him, and he needed that.

As Snape walked desolate streets he thought of their last night together. About walking with Angharad back to the dormitory, her soft hand in his that warmed his icy heart. She had intertwined her fingers with his and he could not bear to let that go. He had even taken his time escorting her, walking so much slower than usual, wanting to savour and prolong their final moments together. And when they had finally reached the entrance to the dormitory it was everything that he could do to not pull her into his arms and hold her close. Or to implore her to not leave him. He had started to loose control and had to fight to regain it.

The easiest thing would be to stop what they had been doing for the past three years. But no, never. Snape could never give up what they had together. He would fight to keep her in his life, and might very well have to if what he knew must be happening did indeed come to fruition.

The Dark Mark on his left forearm was starting to return.

There was no mistaking what that meant.

But Angharad did not know about any of it and her Head of House could not bring himself to tell her either. He honestly believed that if he did he would loose all that he had with her. There was no way she would ever accept _this_; even though she had accepted the vitriolic bitterness and hateful face that he presented to the world at large.

Angharad was good and kind; sensitive and very loving. She was all that had been written in her assessment and much more. How could someone like that accept someone like him? He could never be a force for good in her life, he told himself even though he already was. But Snape was still trying to convince himself to his detriment that his interest in Angharad was anything but a romantic one. It tormented him as much as everything else did.

Snape was awash in a cacophony of negative thoughts and ideas about himself and his life. These thoughts and the burden of them and his painful memories were taking over his everyday existence. As the outline Dark Mark became clearer, his torment magnified. That was a part of his life he desperately wanted release from, but there was no way out.

The only thing the Potions Master had ever that was good in his adult life was his relationship with Angharad. But there was still more than two months to go before he would see her again. He needed to see her, to be with her and it was maddening to have to wait so bloody long. It never occurred to him contact her or better yet to just go and see her. But in the early hours of the morning it would come to him what he should do.

**XxxOOOxxx**

As Angharad continued her walk on the beach, her mind turned to Lupin. She never failed to get post from him regularly now that she was home and had been quite surprised when she'd received her first letter from him pouring his anguished heart and soul out to her. It was waiting for her when she'd returned home from Hogwarts just over three weeks ago. A heart-breaking love letter. Angharad could not fail to be moved by what he had to say, but had finally mustered the courage to write a brief note back saying she didn't feel the same way and would appreciate it if he left her alone and moved on. Suffice it to say that the former Hogwarts Professor didn't take it very well.

Her parents did not question it. They did not question it because they not only did not know about it, they did not care to know. Nor did they ever question anything else about the very separate life that she led. It was a peculiar Benign Neglect that only the privileged could get away with.

Her parents were never around, they never had been really. She had always had a very separate and distinct life, the ultimate latch-key kid. It was the same way for her and her brother Sebastian. She and her brother already had their own separate maisonette flats in the family home, complete with separate entrances. Another one of their parent's brilliant ideas. Some friends of theirs had done it with their kids. Diane and Victor Bartman had been the envy of their friends since they were 10 years old. Mr and Mrs Bartman took great pleasure in what they thought was a superior way of living. Although to their credit, the Bartmans at least ate together. Still, Angharad wondered why they even bothered to have children.

And she wondered the same thing about her parents. Everyone got to do their own thing and no one's toes got stepped on. It was not enough for Angharad and her brother to just have an en-suite bedroom with private bathroom in the family home. Oh no. They had to have their own expansive living room, eat-in kitchen, study, two other bedrooms and conservatory. It was the height of independent ridiculousness and was the equivalent of giving the finger to the Bartmans. Diane and Victor only had three small rooms each.

Sebastian, the rogue that he was, embraced it completely. It had been a regular shag-fest at his place. That was the only thing about her brother's life that she did not like. But Angharad understood why he was the way he was. Seb wanted love and affection and thought that was the only way to get it – he didn't know any better because there was no one to show him any better. He was the best in every other respect though. Angharad considered herself very lucky to have him as her older brother. But even with him she was very secretive and introverted. It was just her way.

Angharad had no choice in the matter. But, at least she had no serious financial worries. There was a trust fund that paid her expenses, including her school fees and there was a financial advisor to assist with the whole thing. Her father did well enough, but he would never have the wealth and privilege of someone like Lucius Malfoy. She was definitely lucky that getting a job right after school would not be as serious a concern for her as it was with others. It was her parents way remaining guilt-free.

She shivered at the drop in temperature and decided it was time to return home, although she wasn't entirely happy about it.

**xxxOOOxxx**

Angharad thought she knew Lupin well enough to assume that that she would never hear from him again after the definite knock-back she'd given him. He had had so many hopes and expectations about sharing his life with her, and she had destroyed them all in one fell swoop.

Her brother stopped in to see how things were at lunchtime several days later and Angharad had told him what happened. Her brother looked at her in anger-fuelled disbelief.

'I knew something was off!' he snapped as he slammed his sandwich down on his plate. 'I should have realised!'

'I should have told you about it sooner I guess but...'

'No, Sis – you don't understand... He was here! _He came here to see you!_'

'What? Are you kidding me?'

'You were out and I didn't see any point in bothering you about it because I thought he'd got the message loud and clear!'

'For fuck's sake...! So what did you make of him?'

'He seemed like quite a nice enough chap on the surface, and it was obvious that he was head over heels about you. But I didn't like the look of him and he seemed just a bit too eager to please. Something just didn't feel right, if that makes any sense? I told him that he'd obviously mistaken your niceness and tolerance for something more than it is.'

'That about sums it up.'

'Does he know that you love someone else?'

His sister shook her head 'no' and Seb sighed.

'Don't feel bad about being up front with him. You did the right thing in the long term. Does your Head of House have any idea about these letters?'

'No; the man needs some peace and I'm about to ruin his summer with this bullshit. Besides which, I think it's safer that way. Now that Lupin's gone I think Professor Snape wouldn't hesitate to find a reason to hex him into oblivion. I don't want to be responsible for that.'

'This Snape chap must be quite something for you to love him like you do.'

'Hold on Seb, I never said...'

_'You didn't have to.'_

'You've got me bang to rights, as always. Thanks for listening and paying attention.'

'Hey, that's what big brothers are for, besides getting you fake IDs and a car at knock-down prices! Course it was hot, but dare I digress. You can always talk to me – even though I know that most of the time you won't. _Severus_… what a name! Jesus H. Christ!' Seb laughed. 'Sounds like it suits him though, from what you say about what he's like in public.'

'I'm glad I did this time,' Angharad said laughing. 'You wanker!'

All of a sudden Sebastian got serious.

'I want to know if Lupin tries to contact you again. It's harassment and that's not on. The guy seems stalkerish to me. I don't trust him!'

'And what are you going do if he does then, eh?'

'Don't underestimate my resourcefulness.'

'Considering everything I've told you about the Wizarding World I don't, that's why I'm asking.'

Sebastian was saved from spelling it out by his mobile ringing. He left her to stew over what he'd said and headed back to his flat.

**xxxOOOxxx**

_The Next Morning and the Immediate Weeks After_

BEEP, BEEP, BEEP, BEEP!

Angharad was jarred from her deep sleep. Damn it, the phone. She fumbled around her night table and finally managed to pick it up.

''Lo,' she mumbled huskily. She was not fully awake and glanced at the alarm clock. Fucking hell, it was 7:30 in the bloody morning!

_'Angharad?'_ said a familiar voice.

It was Lupin.

"_God no, this cannot be happening,"_ she thought to herself.

_'Angharad are you there?'_ Lupin asked.

'Yes,' she replied tensely as she struggled to wake up.

_'You must hate me.'_

'Hate myself for being so damn polite is more like it,' she replied. 'It's 7:30 in the bloody morning!'

Angharad got up and walked into the living room to help herself wake up. She needed to have a much clearer head than usual to diffuse this situation.

'We can make it work, Angharad, I know we can somehow.'

'Once and for all; I don't love you. I'm not in love with you and I never have been. _I have never been interested in you in that way AT ALL__!'_

_'I want to see you; just give me a chance to...'_

'Stop humiliating yourself! Anything else I could say to you is just more shit that you don't want to hear. Just let it go and move on just like you were doing when you slapped me down that day in your office!'

_'That's not fair!'_

'Oh really?! Everything is always about you and it's all or nothing! You were like a child throwing all of its toys out of the pram because it couldn't have a particular one. I deserved better than that. And never in a million years would I have ever believed that _you_ of all people be so horrible!'

There was silence at the other end.

Lupin was upset.

_"I am trying Angharad, I am trying to forget that every dream I had for us has been completely destroyed! That the family we both want, that the baby you so desperately want I will never have with you! That the love you have given me can't be mine for always! That the woman of my dreams has dropped into my life after all these years of being isolated and lonely and can't be mine for some unknown reason! I don't understand it; why don't you feel the same about me, after everything we have shared?!' he howled angrily._

If his former student could see him, she would have been amazed to see him crying. His normally pleasant cheerful face was a mask of agony.

'I was just being nice to you! It was nothing more than that and you know it!' Angharad snapped. Her back was up, way up, and her former professor had crossed the line since he refused to listen to her. 'Do you really want the absolute truth?'

_'Yes, for God's sake, yes I do!' Lupin said, not hiding the torment he was feeling._

'My heart belongs to someone else and I don't need to make a huge mistake with you to know that!'

Silence

_'What? No, no!' Lupin spluttered finally in shock._

'Stop playing the martyr making me into the bad guy for your delusions! No matter what you think, you will always want a lot more than I can ever give you.'

_'No, no….I don't believe you!' said Remus hoarsely crying even harder now. 'You don't even have a boyfriend and you've never even dated! Why this farcical charade?!'_

'Seeing someone else's face, seeing their eyes and hearing their voice when my mind drifted whilst talking to you is a major indicator,' Angharad said angrily as she finally lost it completely. 'Wanting to be with them rather than you says it all!'

_'No, I don't believe it. Why are you saying these things? Why are you trying to drive me from you?' Lupin asked through his tears. 'Something is wrong, there has to be. And you just don't want to tell me. That's it isn't it?'_

He could not accept that he was getting the truth, no matter how painful it was.

'I have tried not to say these things, I have tried not to hurt you – but damn it that _was_ the truth! I have zero interest in you! If it helps you to get over me by thinking that I'm a bitch then so be it! Stop harassing me because my mind won't change! If you don't leave me alone I'll file a complaint with the Ministry!'

Angharad hung up on him and then unplugged the phone.

The Quidditch World Cup couldn't come quickly enough.

**XxxOOOxxx**

Angharad was so quiet over the next few days that Sebastian became really worried, even more so when he realised that she'd shut off her landline. For Muggles and anyone who lived like one that could be nothing less than disastrous in emergencies and he told her so. Though she shrugged him off, saying she had only wanted some peace and quiet, he wasn't buying it.

_Remus Lupin._

If Sebastian Serpentarius was a betting man he would bet that Lupin was the reason why his sister seemed to have retreated even further into herself.

It was time he made a proposal, one that Angharad couldn't say no to.

**OOO**

'Are you sure about this Seb?' Angharad asked, trying to sound as excited as she genuinely was.

'It's the best solution for all of us. Mum and Dad get to live the life they obviously want and don't have either of us underfoot, for a start. Besides, I'm overdue to move out anyway.'

'I've always loved Wales, especially the Brecon Beacons,' she sighed.

'I know you have,' he said smiling. 'This business grant is the answer to my prayers. At least it's something I got off my own back so they can't hang over my head like they do everything else. And investing some of the trust in good old bricks and mortar is never a bad idea. I'm the one who's been raising you so you might as well be with me.'

'I would have thought you'd prefer Cardiff, though.'

'It's OK enough but I actually prefer Brecon Town for socialising. Some of the best opportunities are in rural towns and villages.'

'Of course. So what else is up Brecon-way huh? What's her name?'

'I've got nothing going on in that department.'

'Not yet anyway. Still. Any woman that can tempt my hell-raising brother into a quieter, more respectable life has to be a gem. Just treat her right or I'll give you a beatdown you won't forget.'

'I have no doubt you would you cheeky madam! So – what do you say?'

'I could do with a fresh start,' Angharad mused. 'OK... but can we do it after The Cup please? If we do it now I'll be too tempted and might cancel. Flint & Natasha would never forgive me!'

**XxxOOOxxx**

'Hard to believe that this is our last summer here.' Angharad commented as Sebastian drove her to the site of the Ministry Portkey that would take her and other Wizards and Witches from the surrounding area to the Quidditch World Cup just over a week later.

'Not going to miss it myself. Give me a bell when you're done at your friend's and we'll sort something out. Maybe even a road trip up to Brecon? We could always rent somewhere first.'

'You're on!'

'Here we are,' he said quietly, gesturing towards a nearby hill with a group of people who seemed rather overexcited so early in the morning. He parked his Land Rover where it wouldn't be spotted and then walked around to the passenger side of the car.

'I wish you were coming too,' Angharad sniffed as her brother gave her a hug.

'One day Sis, one day. We'll rep the Clan Serpentarius in style,' he said quietly. 'OK – sure you have everything?'

'Yeah, I'm good. Could do without having to climb bloody Stoatshead Hill though!'

**OOO**

Sebastian moved into a nearby thicket of trees and watched through binoculars as his sister climbed the trash-strewn hill and said hello. There was a group of flaming red-heads that had to be a family, a dorky-looking kid with big round glasses and messy black hair, a bushy-haired girl who needed to get to grips with a horse brush, a tall and rather burly lad and another man who was probably his father. They all seemed quite surprised that Angharad was the one they'd been waiting for. His sister stood next to the burly lad who'd begun talking to her. The looks on the faces of the flame-haired and bushy-haired girls were priceless.

_'Must not be Slytherins, I take it...' _he mumbled to himself before chuckling at the Ministry throwing trash around Stoatshead just to provide cover for their travel device. It struck him as a bone-headed way to go about it.

The other of the two older men looked at his watch and everyone except the messy-haired kid bent over and seemed to be touching something. The bushy-haired girl grabbed the messy-haired kid's hand and slammed it down. There was a loud _CRACK _and in the blink of an eye everyone who'd been on Stoatshead Hill was gone.

**OOO**

What Angharad experienced for the next couple of minutes was nothing less than traumatic. It was like being on the Tilt-A-Whirl at the Carnival when she was young, spinning and spinning so fast that she always managed to get sick when the ride stopped. This most peculiar ride began to slow down and she found herself dropping hard on her feet on the edge of a particularly steep hill.

'Everyone alright?' Mr. Weasley asked carefully.

Angharad's answer was to vomit heavily, narrowly missing his shoes.

'Oh well it happens – some of us just aren't as strong as we need to be, right Ced?' said Mr. Diggory.

Angharad didn't care as she proceeded to projectile vomit, covering Mr. Diggory in a good deal of bile.

All of the Weasley children except for Percy were ready to piss themselves laughing while Mr. Diggory cleaned himself up with a scouring spell.

'Are you alright Angharad?' Cedric asked worriedly as she continued to dry-heave more out of anger than actually being sick.

'Here Miss Serpentarius – drink this,' Mr. Weasley advised as he handed her a vial of violently orange liquid followed by a bottle of water. 'You'll be as right as rain in a few minutes.'

The young Slytherin did as she was told with a bit of difficulty, but found that she felt much better once the vile-tasting potion had gone down.

'Ahh – I'll have to tell Severus his experiment worked,' Mr. Weasley said cheerfully.

Angharad said nothing and just swirled a bit of water in her mouth for a bit and then spit it out. But she was was quite surprised that Mr. Weasley was on a first-name basis with her Head of House.

'Thank you Sir. I was about ready to take his head off. Just tired is all.'

'So I noticed,' Mr. Weasley said quietly with a conspiratorial wink. 'He's not a vicious man, honestly he's not. He's just a bit…proud.'

_'Oh he's proud alright.' _

'I hope you aren't here on your own. We have plenty of room if...'

'That's very kind of you but I'm meeting up with some friends from my House.'

'I'm happy to help you get situated,' Mr. Weasley offered.

'Don't worry about me Sir, I can take care of myself.'

'I'm sure you can, but as you are not yet of age I would feel better knowing that you are situated with your friends and being looked after properly by their parents.'

'I wouldn't argue if I were you,' his daughter Ginny said, flanked by Weasley family friend Hermione Granger. Ginny was a year behind Angharad and Hermione and she was also in Gryffindor. 'I can't even walk to the village by myself let alone coming here!'

'Same here,' Hermione chimed in. It was the first time she'd ever really had anything to say to Angharad and was surprised at how pleasant she was, her guardedness notwithstanding. The behaviour of certain Ravenclaws towards her made even less sense. The three young women kept chatting but fell silent once they reached the top of the hill and took in the sight stretched before them.

Cedric glanced at his father, who was glad-handing some Ministry Officials from Minister Fudge's office. While the others in their party were transfixed at the never-ended jumble of tents and market stalls that went on for miles, his worry was for the Slytherin in their midst. Angharad could tell he felt bad about his father's remarks and quietly reassured him that no serious offence was taken. Cedric wasn't sure that he entirely believed her, but managed to give Angharad a small smile just the same.

**OOO**

The man taking the money and confirming their pitches for them identified himself as Mr. Roberts and he was definitely a Muggle.

How much for pitches near the facilities?' asked Mr. Weasley. 'I don't want a long walk if I can help it.'

'Party of eight right? Double pitch; that'll be forty pounds.'

'Forty pounds – right! Here you are,' Angharad said as she handed over the cash after taking a bundle of Muggle currency from Mr. Weasley who was clearly confused by what to use.

'Just put down Arthur Weasley for that,' Mr. Weasley said gratefully. 'And yes, a party of eight.'

'Double Lot 1-2 in Field A…w-e-a-s-l-e-y.' Mr. Roberts said as he handed them tickets and pamphlets from the Ministry of Magic. 'OK who's next? Move it along!'

Mr. Diggory secured Lot 31 for himself and Cedric and tried to pay for it with some of his Gringotts gold.

'Is this – gold? _Real_ gold?' Mr. Roberts asked with eyes as wide as saucers.

'Of course not! Mr. Diggory you joker!' Angharad chortled as she handed over the exact amount in pounds and handed the ticket to Mr. Diggory who looked as though he wished the earth would swallow him up. 'I got it from a joke shop! Fooled you good eh?!'

Just then two Aurors turned up and before anyone could bat an eyelash, Mr. Roberts was Obliviated.

'Mmm yessiree – you'll be wanting… that one,' Mr. Roberts said dreamily as he waved a hand airily around.

'If we have to do this any more his brain will turn to mush,' the taller of the two complained. 'You think people have any common sense? No! Why just last night…!'

'You didn't have to do that,' Angharad said pointedly. 'He totally believed it was a prank...'

'Oh is that right? Well, good thinking...' the other Auror commented with a nod.

Suddenly there was a loud _bang_ and everyone was spellbound by a band of gaudily dressed gnomes tap-dancing across a magical rainbow. There was a rousing roar followed by Leprechauns doing triple somersaults and breakdancing culminating in an Irish Step Dancing routine.

'Goddamn those Germans and Irish!' the tall Auror squeaked as they ran off.

'Right – I'm here with Marcus Flint and Natasha Arbroath,' Angharad said tiredly. 'I could do with a good wash, some lunch and a kip...'

'Ahhh – yes. Those folks are in Lots 33 through 37. You're listed as "Friend" booked in the tent alongside theirs. Field A, Lot 32,' Mr. Roberts slurred.

'_Sleep?_ Are you mad?' the Weasley Twins, Fred and George, exclaimed in unison.

'I can't wait to see the market stalls!' Ron Weasley whooped.

'Can't blame her myself,' Hermione commented through a heavy yawn.

Everyone followed Mr. Weasley and Mr. Diggory to Field A. Mr. Weasley found his pitch and all the Weasley children dropped their things along with Harry and Hermione. Mr. Diggory hurried off to get his and Cedric's tent set up. The sooner it was done, the sooner he could catch up to Bartemius Crouch and Cornelius Fudge.

'Looks like we're neighbours,' Cedric smiled.

'You're surrounded by Slytherins,' Angharad replied.

'Decent ones though. Flint is a monster on the Quidditch pitch but he's always been OK enough to me otherwise. Natasha's alright too.'

'They're good people, once you get to know them. Like a lot of people in my House.'

'I guess you guys do get a bit of a raw deal. Thanks for helping my father, by the way, it's not that often that we have to use Muggle money for anything. That was really nice of you.'

'No problem,' Angharad replied as she spotted Natasha and Flint outside their tent setting up a fire pit. 'One of the advantages of being a Muggleborn.'

'Here we are,' Cedric said dropping his things. 'Guess I'll see you later?'

'Can't help it, _neighbour_,' Angharad replied with a small smile.

Cedric watched as she walked over to her Housemates who greeted her warmly with hugs. They chatted excitedly and he tried not to eavesdrop too much as he helped his father set up their tent.

_'Where's Dad gone?' _Flint said loudly. 'He was going to help with your tent!'

'It's alright. I got an automatic one so I wouldn't have to worry about using my wand or anyone else's,' Angharad replied, reaching a hand into her backpack and pulling out a small glittering object.

'Ohh one of those rez-box thingys?' Natasha squeaked. 'Let's see!'

'OK according to the instructions the marked side faces me. _Done_. Press in the button on the top. _Done_. Step back at least one foot – _shit_!'

Angharad practically ran backwards as the small box whirred and banged. In less than a minute she had a couples tent with bed alcove, kitchen and dining area and a sitting room – all fully furnished and stocked. She and her Housemates ducked inside. When they came back out Flint loudly declared that deluxe automated tents were the way to go. Even the Diggorys looked suitably impressed.

'How long did it take you to set yours up?' Angharad asked.

'_Almost five minutes _– I'm surprised Dad didn't have a coronary from all those damn charms!'

**OOO**

'Was it my imagination or was that Cedric Diggory who walked you down here?' Natasha asked with a smirk as she and Angharad walked around the marketplace after a nap.

'Yes, his is the next tent over from mine.'

_'You are joking!'_

'I'm not... turns out he and the Weasleys live in the same county in Devon. They were **so** not expecting a Slytherin when I arrived at the portkey. They were nice though, I have to say. Mr. Weasley was fussing over me being alone. Made a change from my parents.'

'I don't mean to pry but your parents..._what do they do to you?_'

'They ignore me.'

**OOO**

Natasha and Flint talked to each other quietly, pointing out this display and that as they, their families and Angharad wove their way towards the smaller of the two stadiums. Cedric had found some of his Housemates from Hufflepuff and was sitting with them outside a garishly decorated tent when they passed by. Angharad said hello after he called out to her and said she couldn't stop for long – they were running late for the match.

'It'll be over before it even starts – Bulgaria are absolute rubbish!' a bristle-headed boy snorted.

'Is that a fact, Summersby?' They saw off South Africa in the qualifiers,' Cedric replied matter-of-factly. 'The Springboks are a tough side and that was one hell of a tight match! Germany are out-matched!'

'In your cotton-candy dreams, Diggory! The only way Bulgaria can win a match is to pull a fast one!'

_'With Viktor Krum?! Are you out of your mind?! Krum doesn't have to cheat!'_

These were apparently fighting words, and a firestorm of an argument kicked off. Angharad hurried, but it wasn't enough to beat the hordes around the stadium. By the time she found their box, the game had started.

'Is Germany winning?' she asked breathlessly as she took a seat next to Natasha.

'_Are you joking?_ Those losers are even lucky to be here!' her Housemate roared.

Sure enough – if there was ever a bunch of Sad Sacks in competitive international Quidditch – the national German team was it. In the time it took for her to finish her soft drink the match was over.

'God – that was anti-climatic!' Angharad sniffed as they made their way back to their tents.

'**Oi, Angharad!' **someone called out from the same gang of Hufflepuffs that she'd passed earlier. She quickly scanned the group and saw that Cedric wasn't amongst them. **'Angharad, how was it?'**

'_Germany got their bums kicked 256 to 13... including 12 mercy points!'_

There was an almighty round of screaming laughter and "I-told-you-so" directed at Summersby, who flounced off in an almighty strop as she passed them by.

**OOO**

That first night of the cup was a rollicking affair as Angharad joined the Flint and Arbroath families around the massive fire pit that they'd joined together spanning the width of their tents. There was singing and lively music along with good food. Angharad sat at the edge, taking it all in. It was great to see that there were Slytherin families who didn't live up to the extremes of the stereotype like the Malfoys did.

_'Hey Diggory,' _Flint called out. 'Pull up a chair, have some food! Hey mum, can you pass me a plate?'

'I wouldn't say no if I were you,' Natasha advised. 'Marcus tends to be very territorial about his food!'

'I hate to see food go to waste. Mum cooked like we were spending the next few months here instead of just a few days,' Flint answered as he passed a heaving plate of barbecue, rolls and salads back along with a few Butterbeers.

'I think some of that is for you, Angharad. You don't mine sharing, right?' Natasha asked with a wink.

Angharad was grateful for the darkness so no one could see her blush. It seemed as though Cedric had been lingering a bit close and Natasha seized the moment to play matchmaker with the tacit agreement of her fiance.

'Oh, I was just passing by...'

'Diggory you say?' Flint's father called out. 'Amos Diggory's son? Well your father is tied up with Ministry business. No sense in being alone, unless you have other plans?'

'I'm happy to stay if I'm not bothering anyone,' Cedric replied.

'I wouldn't have invited you if you were,' Flint commented. 'Hey Angharad, give us a song girl!'

Angharad played her guitar and led them all with a pop tune from the Wizarding music scene. She was feeling quite self-conscious as a Muggleborn and didn't want to draw attention to that fact surrounded by people she was well aware weren't. No one held it against her and she was grateful. But she was determined to make an effort and not stand out too much in ways that could be troublesome.

'One more tune and then we should call it a night; lots on tomorrow,' Flint's mother said when she was done. 'How about that wonderful song you wrote for Marcus and Natasha?'

'Ohhh yes please!' Natasha squealed as they were joined by more people from nearby tents. It had been one massive party in their little part of the world. As Angharad settled with her guitar, Flint nudged his girlfriend and whispered in her ear. Angharad was completely oblivious to Cedric's reaction as he sat next to her in the firelight.

'That was absolutely amazing young lady,' Mr. Diggory said tearfully, emerging at his son's side when she was done. 'Just beautiful!'

'Thanks Mr. Diggory. Nice of you to say so,' Angharad said evenly as everyone stood up and gathered their things.

Flint and Natasha hugged her goodnight outside her tent and everyone made arrangements to have breakfast together. As Angharad settled down for the night she was nothing less than amazed at her Slytherin Housemates welcoming the likes of Cedric Diggory into their inner circle the way they had. She shouldn't be that surprised though; Cedric had the respect of a lot of people at school, being the good, fair and honest lad that he was on and off the pitch. He definitely embodied the most positive aspects of his House. He was the quintessential strong silent type in public but had surprised her by being quite chatty in the time they had spent together.

Angharad drifted off, feeling quite glad that she'd let Natasha and Flint talk her into coming.


	5. The Quidditch World Cup, Part II

**Plot, new characters, new magical terms and abilities etc. are my intellectual property. If you want to borrow then please kindly ask. JK Rowling's characters and Wizarding Universe are all uniquely hers.**

**Summary:**_** AU . **_If he was the question then she was the answer to that question. Severus Snape tries to let go of his past while serving out the debt owed to Dumbledore.

**Chapter warning:** Violence

**Bring Me To Life by NativeMoon – REPOST with edits**

**Chapter 5: The Quidditch World Cup, Part II**

The next two days of The Cup proved to be as busy as their first.

Angharad and her hosts attended several friendlies and elimination rounds. Cedric's seats for the matches were with his father in the Ministry's Top Box with the Weasleys and Malfoys. Apparently the VIP set-up included catering and private bathroom facilities.

She was glad her events seating was amongst ordinary people; there were no airs and graces and everyone could really get into the spirit of the event. Still, it would have been nice to at least had Cedric around for one match. She and the others were seated at Club level so she never saw him until their paths crossed at the campsite.

Natasha and Flint teased her relentlessly, saying that Diggory probably enjoyed their times around the firepit a lot more than watching the Germans fall off their brooms.

**xxxOOOxxx**

Finally the penultimate day was upon them and Angharad and her hosts gave themselves a break before getting ready for the big final later that evening.

'Game time's in an hour and a half and…' Flint said as they settled down for dinner around the fire pit. He stopped short as he spotted Cedric. _'You joining us tonight Diggory?'_

'You're welcome to; plenty here,' Natasha said grinning.

'The sooner you get yourselves cleaned up the sooner we can eat,' Flint's father said firmly. 'Nobody touches a thing until you lot have all had a good wash!'

'Holy Merlin, you're as bad as Mum!' Flint sniffed.

'When you do the cooking and cleaning, you can make the rules. I trust that you won't take too long since you know where it is!' his mother snapped.

'She's got a point you know,' Natasha said as they ran as fast as they could for the shower blocks.

Ten minutes later everyone was seated and tearing into their dinner.

'This definitely tops beans on toast…' Angharad sighed.

'…and burnt sausages!' Flint added.

The talk continued on about food. There was a lot of good-natured ribbing about some of Flint's more interesting cooking experiments over the years.

'…and he blew the _**whole back wall**_ out of mum's kitchen!' his elder brother Matthew roared as he slapped Flint on the back.

'…and nearly took the house down with it!' his sister Anne crowed as she helped herself to some ice cream. 'It was ready to fall over when mum and dad got home!'

'So says the one who gave us the most violent case of Doxy food poisoning St. Mungo's had ever seen in five hundred years!' Flint snapped.

'Well how were I supposed to know they weren't a substitute for venomous tentacula?' Anne asked innocently.

Angharad and Cedric looked at each other then at Flint's sister

'You cooked this yourself – right Natasha?' Angharad asked shakily.

'I had my eye on her; trust me – your bowels are safe!' her Housemate replied with a shudder.

'**Good heavens – we should have left ten minutes ago!'** Mrs Flint shouted suddenly, pointing at her timepiece.

There was a mad scramble as the rubbish was bagged up and everyone went in search of their moneybags and purses. Cedric said goodbye and went to meet his father. There was one last frenzied check for Natasha's moneybag, which she'd actually had in a pocket and then everyone finally set off.

There was none of the madness from previous days and the venue had changed significantly for this most important of all matches. They had to make their way down a long wooded path that was lit with lanterns to show the way. The effect was nothing less than eerie and Angharad was struck by the profound, almost reverential silence that commanded their attention. There was no pushing or shoving; everyone was making their way in a calm and orderly fashion.

Finally they reached the stadium which was at least five times the size of the one they went to for other matches and far grander. Everyone bought programmes and souvenirs and then slowly made their way to their seats with Mr. Flint leading the way.

A faint chill ran down Angharad's back.

'Someone's just walked over my grave…' she said in a hushed voice.

There was no reply.

**xxxOOOxxx**

'WE WON! WE BLOODY WON!' Flint roared as they sat around the fire pit celebrating after the match.

Ireland had won the match, but Viktor Krum had gotten the Snitch. He was crowing about a big bet that he and Natasha had made with an idiot Hufflepuff and all the gold they'd won off him. Cedric had to admit that Summersby was more deluded that even he could have thought possible. Everyone was celebrating wildly all around them. There were bonfires as far as the eye could see and it would be no small feat if any of them managed to get some sleep.

Every single move of the game was analysed several times. Mr. Flint finally called time when Natasha and Angharad fell with their heads lolling on the shoulders of Flint and Cedric.

Angharad fell onto her bed with visions of the Bulgarian mascot doing backflips and cartwheels dancing in her head as she fell fast asleep.

**xxxOOOxxx**

'_Angharad!' _came Natasha's voice as hands gripped her tightly.

'_Angharad wake up! We've got to get out of here!'_ her Housemate shouted as she tried to get her up.

All of the singing and merriment from before was gone. There was nothing but screaming and a pounding that sounded almost like an earthquake. Fortunately she hadn't changed her clothes. Angharad pulled on her boots and ran outside. Acrid smoke filled the air and they could see cluster after cluster of tents on fire. The earthquake was literally hundreds and hundreds of witches and wizards of all ages running for their lives. Something was moving almost supernaturally, coming towards them and forcing people to flee in its wake. Screams of unholy terror filled the night as sonic boom after boom echoed across the fields. There were other sounds too – sounds of drunken taunts and loud cracks.

In the distance a small group was marching, but as the group drew closer it swelled. They could now make out masked figures at the centre of the affray. They wore black hoods over their heads and hideous skull masks that looked almost like bone with real veins pumping blood. Angharad's eyes were forced up and there were the Muggle caretaker, Mr. Roberts with his wife and two children being drawn along like balloons at a parade. They were upside down – and clearly conscious. Mrs. Roberts was tugging in vain to keep her underwear on as some invisible force finally pulled them free of her body. The clothes of the entire family finally went and wave after wave of wizards joined in with the cruel dirty taunts. It was clear what was going to happen to all of them.

'Oh my God!' Angharad wailed. 'They're only kids – almost babies!'

'That's sick,' Flint spat as he tried not to heave. 'That's twisted and sick!'

'I've got to help the Ministry!' Mr. Flint shouted. He instructed his hysterical wife to get the youngsters to the woods and stay put until he and Natasha's father came to get them.

'Come on!' Mrs. Flint shouted as the crowd came closer. 'Stick to me like glue!'

The group ran for it as hard as they could. The lanterns had been extinguished in the woods and they felt themselves colliding with unseen figures.

Suddenly there were screams – a chorus of screams. _'No – not my wife, not my babies! Please!'_ someone shouted. There were more shouts and leering catcalls.

'_Do them all!' _someone roared with a resounding _'Yeah!' _in response.

Anyone and everyone who heard took off like Dragons were on their tail going into the woods. The Flints and Abroath families moved behind large boulders, settling down to wait out the carnage.

'Oh my god!' Natasha shrieked quietly._ 'Angharad! Where's Angharad?!'_

**xxxOOOxxx**

Angharad wasn't sure how it happened but somehow she'd gotten separated from Natasha and the others. She stopped to catch her breath and realised with a start that she was all alone and quite disoriented. It was dead quiet wherever it was that she was now . She tried to get her bearings and rather than take her back towards the crows the direction she ended up even deeper into the woods. Woods – this more like a forest.

There was a loud **SNAP** and she jerked around, trying to figure out what direction it had come from.

**SNAP!**

She whirled around.

**SNAP!**

She whirled again.

There was a low chuckle and for the first time that night she felt deathly afraid.

'Alright enough's enough!' she yelled. 'This isn't funny!'

It was the last thing she said before the world turned upside down and went pitch black.

**OOO**

Angharad was paralysed as her tormentor whirled her like a top from her ankles. Whoever it was would set her spinning and then stop abruptly. She'd vomited uncontrollably at one point, and that had made things worse.

There was a flash of red light hit and she hit the ground hard. When she opened her eyes she realised that she couldn't see. Her tormentor didn't care that she was covered in vomit as he tore her clothes from her body. Her semi-naked body was bloody and bruised from the torturous hexes and curses she'd been subjected to.

Time slowed down and her spirit seemed to leave her body while he kicked her about as though she were nothing more than the flora of the landscape. There was only the darkness and the sound of his deadly laughter and taunts as as the the most devastating part of his brutality began.

**xxxOOOxxx**

Flint looked up in horror at the Dark Mark illuminating the burning landscape.

'It can't be,' he murmured under his breath. 'It can't!'

His mind wandered back to a conversation he'd heard earlier as they were in search of a hiding place.

**xxxxxx**

'_Language, wizard trash, language! You're a waste of space. Better hurry along since you're with her!' Draco sneered at Ron Weasley as he jerked his head towards Hermione Granger, one of the Gryffindor Muggleborns._

'_And what's that supposed to mean?' Ron snapped._

'_Merlin's Beard you are thick! They're Muggles and the Mudblood's no better than one!'_

_Harry Potter made a snide remark about Draco's father, saying that he was probably one of the scumbags hiding behind the Death Eater masks._

_Draco didn't deny it. In fact, he was so cool, calm and collected it was unnerving._

_Flint erred on the side of caution and didn't make his presence known to the junior Death Eater-in-waiting._

**xxxxxx**

Flint knew they needed to search for Angharad, but Natasha was a quivering wreck and his mother was having her third meltdown of the night. His brother hadn't even been around when things kicked off so it was up to him to look after the rest of the family when his father and Natasha's were pressed into action by one of his colleagues at the Ministry.

He swore under his breath at having to wait this out and hoped for the best.

**xxxOOOxxx**

Flint and Natasha's fathers finally found their loved ones with the help of their colleagues in a Ministerial search party. People were being sent home as quickly as they could get them out.

'Where's Angahard?' Mr. Flint whispered to his his son once they made it back to their cluster of damaged tents.

'I... I... I don't know! We didn't even realise she was gone until we found our hiding place.'

'She was with us one minute and the next...' Natasha mumbled.

_'Why are you all standing around in this unhelpful manner?' _Bartemius Crouch Senior demanded angrily as he walked over. _'Is there a problem here?' _

He was one of the Ministry bigwigs overseeing the event and was incandescent with rage at how catastrophic this was. The Ministry of Magic was in for serious criticism and no doubt their ability to win bids for international events was under threat. He was also the sort of man who did not take kindly to aspersions being cast on his reputation and ability to do his job. If heads were going to roll he was determined his would not be one of them. Every decision and action going forward was about damage control.

'No Sir, we're just seeing if there's anything left we can salvage before getting the first portkey out available,' Matthew Flint answered, emerging from the tent he'd shared with his parents.

_'Destination?' _

'Southend-On-Sea, Essex.'

_'One's scheduled in three hours! Gate A at the stadium!'_

'Yes Sir, thank you Sir!' Matthew answered, ignoring the pleading eyes of his brother.

_'You boy,' _Crouch barked at a glowering Flint. 'Is there a problem?'

'No Sir,' Flint answered quickly, holding his weeping fiancee close.

'We have too much to do and Merlin only knows we could do without any further aggravation! The Prophet is going to have a field day with this!'

'Check your things Marcus; I just want to get out of this hell-hole as soon as we can!' his brother snapped.

Mr. Crouch and his party set off and Flint rounded on his brother.

_'For Merlin's sake! We can't just leave!'_

'Do you have any idea what's at stake here? Do you? I shouldn't have let you talk Dad into allowing that _filthy little Mudblood_ to be here with us! Our whole family could be at risk! '

'Matt what are you saying? Do you hear yourself?!'

'You listen Marcus and you listen good; you and Tash have taken this business with your little _pet_ too far! Her own family doesn't give a shit about her; no parent in their right mind would send someone not yet of age to something like this alone! '

'They probably don't even know she's here...' Flint muttered. 'Only her brother does but he's as Muggle as Muggle can be apparently.'

'Hah! _Surprise, surprise!_ Forget the Mudblood – this is self-preservation now! If You-Know-Who is returning we need to have a plan to keep our heads above water and quite a cunning one at that!'

'Hah! The worst of Slytherin to the end!'

'Mum and Dad didn't survive the last war by drawing unnecessary attention to themselves or being stupid enough to associate with the wrong sort of people! Anyway, your pet's a smart girl by all accounts. She'll turn up and the Ministry will send her on her way!'

'Marcus,' Natasha said tearfully. 'We can't leave like this. You know we can't! _We owe her!_'

'I'm going to look for her Tash; I should have done long before now!' Marcus hissed. 'I would have if Matt had actually been around to protect the family honour instead of leaving me to do it! Her name's not down as our guest but no way am I just going to walk off and...'

'People might think that _we_ had something to do with this mess and lured her here!' Matt shouted. 'It doesn't matter that we don't know anything about what happened tonight and that no one in our family was a follower of You-Know-Who! You should have seen that idiot Malfoy brat earlier. He should have just taken an advert out on the Wizarding Wireless Network proclaiming his family's guilt! _How could __**you**__, of all people, not even know what he was up to?!_'

'He never mentioned anything at school, not a mumbling word!' Flint fumed before he and his brother ripped each other to shreds over what should and should not be done. 'And I don't have much to do with him outside of having to put up with him on the House Quidditch team!'

'I knew you were stupid but Merlin almighty!' Matt hissed dangerously.

_'I'll go with you, Marcus,' _Cedric said emerging from his tent. 'I think you've wasted enough time arguing about it. I've left a note for my father in case he makes it back before I do.'

_'Another blood traitor! No surprise there!'_

'Thank you Cedric, that's awfully good of you,' Mr. Flint said. 'I'm going too. Marcus I just want you to know that I am very proud of you for standing by your friend.'

He took a few steps before turning back to face his eldest son.

_'I thought that I had raised my children to be better than what I've heard from you and it pains me that I was sadly mistaken. There is always a choice between what is right, and what is easy. At least Marcus understands the importance of doing what is right even if it's not the easiest thing to do.'_

'You're taking his side? Have you lost your mind?!'

'I'm doing what I know is the _right_ thing to do and I am prepared to deal with whatever repercussions there may be, though I don't see the situation as you do and I daresay no one else with sense will. We are much better than than the sullied reputation of our House!'

'What if _He's_ coming back Father? Don't you even care what this could mean for us and the family in _the long term_?!'

'There are many guilty parties from the war who will never face so much as an Overnight Inquiry in a ministerial jail cell. They walk amongst us presenting a respectable face (or not) to our little society, free to do as they will for better or worse. _Sinister though it may be, the casting of The Mark may be little more than mischief-making alongside more serious criminal acts._ _I have no way of knowing one way or another, but what I do know is that it does us no good to live out our lives on the basis of what may never happen. Life goes on regardless of any one man's attempt to destroy it. _Now, since you are so worried about preserving your own skin and questionable reputation you can make it your responsibility to get your mother and sister to that portkey. There's just about enough time to pack what little can be salvaged and be gone. Marcus and I will return home as soon as we can. I don't expect to see you when we get there!'

Mr. Flint hugged his wife and daughter and promised he would be careful. He and Marcus ran down the path running as fast as they could after Cedric, who had taken off before the last two sentences had left Mr. Flint's mouth.

**xxxOOOxxx**

Flint stood at the edge of the woods on the spot where he thought Angharad might have become separated from the rest of them, afraid to look at his father. Afraid to show just how afraid he was.

'Keep your wand drawn,' Mr. Flint instructed. 'I think the troublemakers are long gone but you can never be too prepared.'

Cedric had already run ahead of them, not wanting to waste more valuable time.

**xxxOOOxxx**

It was Cedric's anger at Flint's brother that kept him from giving into fear. Angharad deserved better but at least she had some loyalty from her Housemates and those that really mattered in their families. It was upsetting that all this time she'd managed to not come under fire on the basis of blood prejudice at Hogwarts only to be let down by someone who had been in a position to look after her.

How convenient that Flint's brother hadn't been with the rest of his family when things kicked off, leaving his much younger brother to fend for their family all alone while their father did as he was expected to do as a senior employee of the Ministry. Marcus was another Slytherin whose bark was much worse than his bite. He was woefully inadequate at Defence Against the Dark Arts and hadn't been up to much during the Hogwarts Duelling Club a couple of years ago. Natasha was definitely the more capable of the two, when she wasn't a crying wreck.

_It was just a little too convenient the more he thought about it._

The Hufflepuff swallowed and moved forward into the forbidden inky darkness as Matthew Flint's earlier diatribes echoed in his head.

**OOO**

Cedric's eyes had not wanted to believe what he perceived when he stumbled across her at first. Angharad looked like a chewed up rag doll, slumped as she was in a jumble of sharp rocks.

He stared at the naked girl on the ground and dropped to his knees. He gathered the battered and bloody figure into his arms and howled in anguish.

Time stopped for Hogwarts student as he knelt on the steaming earthen floor cradling her in his arms after executing some rudimentary healing charms. Only the sound of Arthur Weasley remonstrating with another adult over Harry Potter brought him to his senses. Consumed by a fury and desolation he had never known before, Cedric raised his wand and sent up red sparks in the night sky.

**OOO**

_'Oh Dear Merlin,' _Arthur Weasley whimpered as he dropped to his knees next to Cedric, who had taken off the button-down shirt he'd been wearing over his t-shirt and covered her with it. He took Angharad's hands in his and gasped at how icy cold they were.

_'What is it dad? What's going on?'_ Ginny called out in the near distance.

_**'Stay where you are, I mean it Ginny!'**_

Ginny started to speak again but Hermione's hand on her arm stopped her.

'Something's happened,' Hermione whispered. 'See who's next to him?'

_'Is that Cedric Diggory?'_

'Yes. One guess who that is that he's holding onto for dear life.'

'You're kidding!' Ron whispered. 'So it really is true then?'

'What's true?' Harry asked as a team of Aurors descended on their father and the young man in question followed by Marcus Flint and someone they guessed was his father.

'Just some talk is all. The Hogwarts grapevine doesn't shut down for the summer or something like this...'

'It hasn't exactly gone unnoticed that he's spent a lot of time with a certain Slytherin Muggleborn outside of going to matches with his father,' Hermione said quietly.

'_Merlin's Beard_... you mean that's...?'

'Dad's furious! I can't remember the last time I saw him this mental,' George commented.

'Can't say that I blame him,' Fred said quietly.

Though the Weasley Twins were the resident jokers of their family, and Hogwarts for that matter, there was nothing funny about this at all. The moment the commotion started with the Muggle caretaker Mr. Weasley's instinct was to make sure that Hermione was protected as well as he could manage under the circumstances. He'd actually given voice to his hope that their travelling companion was being looked after by her Slytherin hosts. It now appeared that she hadn't and he and Mr. Flint were nose-to-nose arguing about it. Senior Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt had to step between them to stop their arguing from getting out of hand.

'I know you're upset,' Kingsley said in his slow booming bass of a voice. 'But this isn't helping anyone, least of all the girl. She'll be transported to St. Mungo's but in the meantime if you I can have statements from anyone willing to give one, that would be helpful.'

The Senior Auror transfigured a soundproofed interview room and called the witnesses forward one at a time. Mr. Weasley went first, followed by Mr. Flint and Marcus.

The Flints were sent on their way but Mr. Weasley wanted to make sure that Angharad was going to be alright before he left with his family and their guests.

_'You can let go now; I promise she'll be well looked after,' _ a young woman with bubblegum pink hair said gently as she knelt down in front of Cedric. 'The team from St. Mungo's Hospital are here.'

The Hufflepuff Quidditch Captain refused with a shake of his head before breaking down in tears again.

'The Emergency MediAid team will make sure she gets better,' Auror Nymphadora Tonks continued. 'You need to let go so they can do their job properly and stabilise her for transport.'

Even Fred and George found themselves taking deep breaths. They didn't know Angharad but nobody deserved what she must have gone through. There was just something about the way Cedric was holding tight to her, refusing to let go as he rocked back and forth. Cedric was so obviously devastated that it broke everyone's heart.

'You were quite brave to take this on Cedric,' Mr. Weasley said calmly. 'I don't doubt that she's alive because of you. Come on, allow the team to do what they need to and we can see about a visit to St. Mungo's eh?'

Mr. Diggory appeared and Mr. Weasley went over to him to have a private word. The usually pompous wizard was quite deflated as he took out a handkerchief and blew his nose.

_'A Muggleborn in Slytherin! Nothing good can come of it, nothing!'_ Mr. Diggory said shakily.

'Now, now Amos. I honestly do believe that this attack had a lot more to do with opportunism than blood quantum,' Shackebolt said carefully. 'Someone took advantage of the commotion and the unlucky victim just happened to be her. There were a number of incidences from the petty to the very serious like this one.'

'There were thousands of Muggleborns here and she was the _only_ one that was seriously harmed that we know of so far,' Tonks said matter-of-factly. 'The Muggle caretaker and his family bore the brunt of it. We have more work to do but as it stands she was just unlucky to be separated from her friends.'

'Excuse me Kingsley; unfortunately the Prophet reporters and photographers are already deciding what the story is for themselves. We cornered a few trying to prevent people from porting out unless they gave a sound bite. This is going to be front page news for quite a while it seems,' said a tiny little Auror named Eyre.

'As if this bloody night couldn't get any worse!' Kingsley hissed. He took a deep breath before excusing himself to have a quick word with the head of the team from St. Mungo's.

'Head Auror Scrimgeour is furious and it wouldn't surprised me if he confronts Fudge and Ludo Bagman since it's Bagman's people who were responsible for this!' Eyre said grimly.

Shacklebolt returned to have a private word with Tonks before dispatching her to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies & Inuries, the main medical establishment for the British Isles based in London. She would be the Auror in charge of investigating Angharad's assault backed up by Eyre.

'The less we speak of this the better Amos; the two of us aren't even Aurors so I daresay this is _"off the record",'_ Mr. Weasley suggested. 'There will be more than enough fodder for the Prophet and Merlin help me I do hope Angharad Serpentarius isn't a part of it! Can you imagine what the likes of that muckraking gosspipmonger Rita Skeeter would do to her?!'

'Yes, it is _imperative_ that we keep this between ourselves! The cover story, should it be necessary, will be that Angharad Serpentarius got into a fight with a gang of foreign witches from Durmstrang. Speaking of which; I need to speak with your boy, Amos,' Kingsley said. 'I promise I won't keep him long but if you want to sit with him by all means.'

"Well thank you for looking after Cedric as you have Arthur. I think we could do with a good deal of peace and quiet after this,' Mr. Diggory said as he and Mr. Weasley shook hands. 'We'll have a catch-up soon eh?'

He walked over to his son and hugged him before disappearing with Cedric into Kingsley's makeshift interview room.

'Come on you lot; the sooner we are home the better,' Mr. Weasley said quietly once he rejoined his subdued children and their friends. It was already quite early in the morning on what should have been the final day of the Quidditch World Cup. He would go home and have some sleep but made a mental note to have a word with his wife Molly and check on Angharad as soon as he could.

Somebody needed to care about the girl since her family obviously weren't up to the task.


	6. Deception

**Plot, new characters, new magical terms and abilities etc. are my intellectual property. If you want to borrow then please kindly ask. JK Rowling's characters and Wizarding Universe are all uniquely hers.**

**Summary:**_** AU **_If he was the question then she was the answer to that question. Severus Snape tries to let go of his past while serving out the debt owed to Dumbledore.

**Bring Me To Life by NativeMoon – REPOST with edits**

**Chapter 6: Deception**

'My sister – _got into a fight with a gang of witches from Durmstrang Institute_ – and is in the hospital?' Sebastian spluttered as he looked from Tonks to Eyre and back at Tonks again as they sat around the coffee table in his sitting room late the following morning.

'Have a look a look at these...' Eyre said, handing over the Early and Morning Editions of that day's Daily Prophet newspaper. 'Take a good look at the contents, Mr. Serpentarius, and you'll see what she was up against.'

Sebastian gawped at the front page leads, dominated by a giant moving photo of the Muggle Caretaker and his family being paraded upside down. He rifled through both papers and there was story after story about one nefarious situation after another from the events of the night before. The Quidditch World Cup itself was little more than a back-page summary. This madness was set to run and run by the looks of things, no different to the usual tabloid bullshit in Muggle papers.

_'Jesus wept!' _Seb moaned. _'First a werewolf and now this?!'_

'Ahh – the Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor at Hogwarts,' Tonks commented. 'He resigned, they'll be getting someone new come September.'

'One of us in fact,' Eyre added with a grimace. 'Merlin help 'em...'

'What happened to my sister? I want the truth!'

'I'm sorry but that's a conversation that we can only have with your parents. If you were her Legal Guardian...' Eyre began.

'Our parents are on a cruise ship out in the middle of nowhere. All of our Muggle documents list _me_ as the next-of-kin contact in case of an emergency and it's the same for Hogwarts!'

'We could check on that at the Ministry; copies are filed with the Education Office,' Tonks said. 'But I think we can take your word for it. We understand from conversations with your sister's friends that you've been the one pretty much raising her.'

'That's right! I want to know exactly what happened to my sister and I want to know now! You can spare me any bullshit about fights; no one who really knows her would ever believe that in a million years!'

'Oh? And why is that?' Eyre asked.

'Both of us have studied Martial Arts since we were kids. Dear old Dad is a Kung Fu Black Belt and he insisted on it. We _'needed to learn discipline and self-control' _he said, self-defence notwithstanding. Magic or no magic – if Angharad is in the hospital banged up from a fight then I'd love to see the other guys because you can best believe they would be _seriously_ wrecked!'

Seb looked at the shocked faces of the two Ministry operatives and stifled a derisive laugh.

_'You __really__ had no idea – did you?' _he asked.

_'None,'_ Eyre admitted. 'And to be honest, from what we've heard of your sister I doubt anyone else in our world knows either.'

'Senior Auror Shacklebolt says, and we agree, that it would better for your sister's sake for the truth to be obscured,' Tonks said carefully, tapping the newspapers in front of them.

'And that is..._what_?' Seb asked, his blood pressure rising with each minute.

Tonks and Eyre looked at each other. The little Auror nodded at his partner, leaving it to her to handle the necessary revelation with delicacy.

'You have to understand, there were _thousands_ of people attending...' Tonks began.

'No different than a concert at a stadium or a Premiership footie match,' Sebastian sighed irritably. 'Get on with it, _please!_'

'My own father is a Muggle, Mr. Serpentarius. I've attended things like that and believe me they are insignificant in comparison! That's why the host country of The Cup always has to go to such extremes in preparation and management!'

'Try to to imagine the magnitude of the pandemonium... Opportunist Wizards and Witches are no different to Muggles in a riot,' Eyre suggested.

Sebastian looked at the odd looking little thing perched on the end a stack of cushions next to the punkish-looking woman with neon blue hair and dreaded to think what his father was. The Ministry official named Eyre reminded him of a reptile.

'Well it's obvious that Angharad was in the wrong place, at the wrong time. And that being the case she was...'

'I'm sorry, Mr. Serpentarius; I really am. _Your sister was raped_...' Tonks said softly.

**OOO**

Sebastian Serpentarius's face crumpled as he looked down at the broken figure of his sister in the Critical Care Unit at St. Mungos. Tonks and Eyre were waiting for him just outside the room, having an argument with someone who outranked them it seemed. He tuned them out and collapsed into the chair by Angharad's bed, laying his head on her legs and weeping hysterically. One of the Wizarding machines she was connected to let out a loud screech and a team of staff dressed in white crashed into the room.

'I'm sorry, Sir but you'll have to leave!' a woman said firmly as she yanked Seb up from his chair and pushed him towards the door.

'I will not!'

'She's flatlining again – I'm sorry but we need to work here! You'll have to sit outside!'

Seb was pushed through the door but couldn't see very much through the single pane of glass at eye level as his sister's bed was surrounded.

'It's going to be a couple days before her condition settles, I think,' a man said drawing near. 'I'm sorry, my manners; I'm Dr. Amando Fawcett and I'm overseeing your sister's case, Mr. Serpentarius.'

_'What the hell is going on?!' Sebastian_ demanded through his tears.

'We aren't sure, to be honest. We need to do quite a bit of testing.'

_'Testing? What kind of testing? My sister was raped and...'_

_'...the results seem to indicate by more than one person...' _Dr. Fawcett added quietly. 'It's a rather _complicated_ situation. It's complicated because our world is. I'm sorry, Mr. Serpentarius; I can't say more than that at the moment. As I've said – there is much testing to be done.'

'This is mad... absofuckinglutely MAD!' Seb shouted.

'You need to lower your voice, Sir!' Tonks said tersely. 'Otherwise you will draw too much unnecessary attention to yourself!'

'The Prophet, remember?' Eyre added.

'We are doing our best to keep this and a number of other cases under wraps,' Dr. Fawcett said. 'I promise you I will do what I can but we need your cooperation. I'll be in touch when I know more. Good day to you.'

Dr. Fawcett went into Angharad's room and the glass pane frosted over, obscuring the view.

**OOO**

'If it helps you feel any better, Dr. Fawcett's team were able to turn over some rather interesting evidence to us,' Eyre said once he and Tonks were seated in Sebastian's sitting room again. 'Amongst other things it does seem to indicate that your sister most definitely fought hard when she was able.'

_'Anything useful that will lead you to the animals who did it?!'_

'We have examinations of our own to complete and cross-referencing to do,' Tonks explained carefully. 'We'll also have to liaise with international authorities...'

'So in other words the best we can hope for is that Angharad gets better so that she can leave that place and get on with her life!'

'We can't make any promises other than we'll do our best,' Eyre said, rising. 'Your sister's case isn't the only one we have and it's not even the worst.'

'We'll get in touch as soon as we know something,' Tonks said as she walked to the middle of the room and stood next to her partner.

Before Sebastian could utter another word there was a loud CRACK! The two Aurors had disappeared, leaving him alone and completely cut off from his sister.

**xxxOOOxxx**

Arthur Weasley had been mercifully swamped by work for the Ministry and managed to avoid his children's questions about Angharad the first couple of days after returning from The Cup. But he couldn't avoid them for long, not with the screaming headlines from the Daily Prophet.

_'"Beat up by a gang of Witches from Durmstrang"...' _Hermione said as she Ron, and Harry sat in Ron's bedroom just before bed. 'That just...'

'...doesn't make any sense at all,' Ron muttered as he shook his head in disbelief.

'Nothing about that night makes any sense...or my dreams for that matter...' Harry sighed.

'Harry please promise me you'll talk to Dumbledore about this! A bad dream is one thing but your scar burning the way it does is something else!'

'So why do you think your Dad's lying about Angharad, Ron?' Harry asked, changing the subject.

'Wish I knew mate. It's really bugging him though; I can tell. There hasn't been any mention of it in the paper or on the wireless. That's something, at least.'

'Can you imagine the stink there would be even if something like a so-called fight between two of the biggest schools in the Global Wizarding Community at The Cup hit the papers?' Hermione said ruefully. 'All hell would break loose, that's for sure!'

'And a fight with a Muggleborn no less and just when all that crap about the Chamber of Secrets finally died down. One thing I know from Dad is that Minister Fudge hates controversy of any kind. The whole world could be falling apart and he'd still carry on with the gladhanding and that in public like nothing's wrong.'

'Like he did with me and a certain situation just before the start of term this past year,' Harry commented.

'Exactly. Something's not right, though.'

'What do you mean?' Hermione asked.

'You don't know this, but Dad couldn't get anywhere near Angharad's room to even say hello. For three days straight. I overhead him telling Mum. Fight or no fight you have to admit that's weird!'

'Seriously?' Harry said. 'You'd think she was headed for Azkaban with all that carrying on!'

'It's not funny, Harry!' Hermione snapped, wiping the smirk off his face. 'Think about it; she's a Muggleborn with parents who had no idea that she was even at The Cup to start with! She's completely isolated with no one to help her! Whatever is going on it's not for her benefit at all!'

'That was Mum's reaction,' Ron said carefully. 'They're not letting it rest though.'

'Oh' Harry asked. 'What are they going to, break her out?'

'I think Dad has something in mind... But like I said, we don't know anything about any of this, right?'

**xxxOOOxxx**

Sebastian stuck to home for just over a week. There was no word from either of the Aurors or Dr. Fawcett. He'd been prepared though and had no hesitation about taking matters into his own hands. These wizards had no idea who they were dealing with, he thought to himself as he made his way to his conservatory.

He'd bought a coal black Little Owl for Angharad the first time they visited Diagon Alley for her school things. The wee creature he'd named Hero had, unfortunately or not, preferred him to his sister and had been with him ever since. Sebastian often pretended to be more annoyed than he really was with his roommate, but did not want to imagine what his life would be like without his dear little friend.

'Hero, I have a big job for you to do. Are you up for it?' he asked the Little Owl.

Hero gave a tiny whistle of a hoot in the affirmative and stuck out his leg. Sebastian tucked a note in a tiny black bag and attached it after giving the owl a treat.

'This is really important, Hero. Angharad's in trouble and we need help. I need you to find her Head of House, Severus Snape, and make sure he reads that note!'

**xxxOOOxxx**

Snape sat in his small sitting room in Spinner's End reviewing the day's papers. For almost two weeks the various editions of The Prophet had been dominated by one woeful tale after another from the Quidditch World Cup – all off the back of the nefarious activity of little more than a handful of people.

_'Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, Rosier, McNair at the very least,'_ He muttered as he frowned at the photo of the now-deceased Roberts family.

Many had been the time over the years since the assumed fall of the Dark Lord Voldemort when he'd followed Muggle news and wondered if the stories reported had more to do with the blood hatred of the Dark Lord's fanatical Death Eaters instead of the usual dunderheadedness that drove Muggles to do stupid things. His mood was even fouler after reading about the Muggle caretaker of the land the Ministry had secured for the The Cup. Daily Prophet reporter Rita Skeeter was accusing the Ministry of covering up the unsavoury facts behind the deaths of Mr. Roberts, his wife and children. Nothing was seemingly held back as Skeeter reeled off the most lurid of details about the hours of torture and assault culminating in the deaths of the family in the early hours of the morning of this latest edition.

Unable to stomach any more, Snape threw the papers away and headed for the kitchen for a cup of tea. He'd just put the kettle on when there was a tapping sound at the window. He jerked his head around and peered outside. His left eyebrow raised in irritation at the sight of two unbelievably small owls demanding his attention.

The Potions Master opened the window enough to allow them to fly in and land on his table. One was so clumsy it ended up in the sink of dishes. As he fished it out Snape wondered who in blazes had the temerity to disturb his summer holiday and at his place of residence no less. There was only one way to find out, but first thing's first. Snape took his time making his idea of the perfect cup of tea before sitting down with it at the small kitchen table. He sighed as he took the notes meant for him. He read the one that delivered by the wet owl first:

* * *

_Dear Severus,_

_I hope this note finds you well. _

_I'm sorry I haven't gotten back to you sooner about your porting sickness tonic but things have been rather chaotic at this end. Apologies in advance for the annoyance that is the owl, Pigwidgeon. I have estimated that it will have taken him about a week to find you. The potion worked well, but it was tested under the most unexpected of circumstances – and it is that most peculiar situation which prompts me to write to you. It involves one of your students, a Miss Angharad Serpentarius, and it is **imperative** that I speak to you without delay. _

_I have much to say to you and suffice it to say that such things are best said in person rather than written. As Miss Serpentarius resides somewhere in the area here I would propose that we meet at the Barrowboy Inn, Stoatshead Village, 21st July, 2pm. I've managed to get the day off so we won't be rushed for time._

_Kind Regards,_

_Arthur Weasley_

* * *

Snape swallowed and re-read the letter twice just to make sure he wasn't misunderstanding. His mind began to race as his heart filled with unease. Something was wrong... something _had_ to be wrong. The 21st – that was two days away! Tea wasn't enough. He reached for the bottle of Firewhiskey begging for his attention.

The other owl flapped around and hooted at him in the most peculiar way and nipped at his hand impatiently.

_'Calm down! I'll read the blasted thing!' _the Potions Master snapped angrily. He sighed as he picked up the second note. He nearly fell off his chair when he saw the signature. He willed himself to calm down and began reading.

* * *

_Dear Professor Snape,_

_We've never met, but I'm writing to you because I need help and don't know of anyone else to go to. It's about my sister, Angharad Serpentarius. I **really** need to talk to you and think it's better if I explain in person. _

_As you're probably aware, I'm not magical at all so there's a limit to how far I can travel. Also because of the way things are at the moment I don't dare leave home. If you could come here that would be great. My address is 3 Somerset House, Little Chorleywood, Devon. Please come as soon as you can. I'm not sure how much longer I can cope... All of this will make more sense when we meet. _

_Kind Regards,_

_Sebastian Serpentarius_

* * *

Severus immediately thought of the Quidditch World Cup. Something serious had to have happened to Angharad and that something had to do with The Cup. All things being equal it was the only assumption of merit. His mind wandered back to a conversation he'd overheard at Hogwarts just before the summer break; a conversation between Angharad and Draco.

**xxxxxx**

_'Hey Serpentarius, how are you?' came a familiar voice just after Angharad took her seat in the Potions Classroom. She was nearly an hour-and-a-half early for the double session they had with Gryffindor. It was their final practical test of the term and she wanted to do some last-minute reviewing, same as always. _

_It was none other than Draco Malfoy. He sat down next to her with his legs stretched out in the aisle, taking advantage to have a private word while no one else was around. There was something he needed to know._

_'Alright. How about you Draco? Looking forward to a good summer?' Angharad asked politely. 'You must be very excited about The Cup – it's all anybody seems to be talking about at the moment...'_

_'Can't complain about time away from this dump,' said Draco trying to sound less curious than he was. 'But camping in an illegal chalet isn't my idea of a good time. Honestly, I will be so glad when it's done with so we can have a real holiday. What about you? I heard you might be going yourself...'_

_'Nah, couldn't be bothered. You talked me out of it. My parents have booked an Arctic cruise or some such.'_

_'You won't miss anything. Like I said before, it's not really your thing,' Draco drawled. 'Arctic travel – now that sounds quite interesting. You'll have to tell me all about it when we're back.'_

_'Sure thing. So, what were your mid-term grades like?' _

_'Not too shabby this time, thanks to you and all that extra help,. Father would have gone mental if I hadn't improved my Transfiguration and Arithmancy marks. I should definitely come out ahead when we get our final marks for the Year.'_

_'I'm glad it worked out for you; I know what parents are like. Mine drive me crazy about my grades.'_

_'You're alright Serpentarius – even if you hadn't helped me so much.'_

_'Cheers; you're not so bad yourself.'_

_'Well, I better look for Crabbe and Goyle – honestly after three years you would think they knew where the Great Hall was by now,' Draco said with a smirk. 'I caught them in a disused classroom last week wondering where everyone was and why the Great Hall had been shrunk!'_

_Angharad tried not to laugh and Draco grinned._

_'See you later, yeah? Oh – and don't forget it's my shout tonight in the Common Room; Mother went overboard on the sweets again!'_

_'You can count on it,' Angharad replied before giving him a big smile._

_'Good,' said Draco as he left looking for his partners in crime._

_Severus didn't comment as he'd glanced at Angharad who now had her head buried in her Potions textbook. There was a heavy sigh which seemed to indicate that she was very relieved after that most curious of exchanges. _

_It was obvious to him that Malfoy had been warning her off from attending the Quidditch World Cup. _

_It was at that moment that Snape realised that he did not quite have the full measure of the young man after all. Draco Malfoy was spoiled and could be quite insufferable because of it at times. There was no doubting that. And there was no denying that he did have an open and very virulent dislike for Muggles, as he'd been taught by his parents. Angharad seemed to be the exception to this. And it was not just because she was a Slytherin. No, Malfoy actually liked her as a person though he could easily afford not to. Flint had been absolutely right about that after all._

_But young Master Malfoy was no fool. He was playing it cool, really cool, because if his father ever found out Draco's life would not be worth living. No Malfoy could ever like a Muggleborn let alone have one as a friend. Least of all Lucius Malfoy's son; a Death Eater's son._

_Draco was taking a huge risk for the sake of his so-called Mudblooded mate._

**xxxxxx **

'What in Merlin's name happened?!' Snape whispered to himself. 'What made her change her mind after all that?!'


	7. Whispers in the Dark

**Plot, new characters, new magical terms and abilities etc. are my intellectual property. If you want to borrow then please kindly ask. JK Rowling's characters and Wizarding Universe are all uniquely hers.**

**Summary:**_** AU **_If he was the question then she was the answer to that question. Severus Snape tries to let go of his past while serving out the debt owed to Dumbledore.

**Bring Me To Life by NativeMoon – REPOST with edits**

**Chapter 7: Whispers in the Dark**

Tonks sighed heavily as she poured over stacks of reports relating to the crime-wave at the Quidditch World Cup. She'd never been one for the snobbery that some officials had about who should be allowed to attend large-scale events but with what she knew now, she couldn't say that she blamed them.

'Tonks,' Eyre said breathlessly as he hopped onto her desk after racing through the department. 'Is Kingsley in? I have to speak to him – and you!'

'Yeah, he just got back from the field. What's going on?'

'Not here...' the little Auror muttered. _'Come on, this won't wait!'_

**OOO**

'It seems the Planners & Plotters didn't research as well as they were obligated to,' Eyre said quietly. 'It wasn't until Crouch finally revealed the actual geographic location of The Cup that I realised. Where Angharad Serpentarius was found was technically across the border into another county. Mansun's team have been investigating that place for a while now. Awful things; _bad enough to make him want to hand in his badge!'_

'The Dark Creature details?! _Oh Merlin!_ Are you kidding me?!' Tonks gasped. 'Children were ripping and running for days there, as kids do, with their parents operating under the illusion that it was safe for them! The crèches and play areas were set up in the woods and surrounding forest..._it's outrageous!_'

'I know Tonks, believe me I know! Our office should have been a lot more involved,' Kingsley said. 'When I think about my Matty and the boys... Wrapping our kids in cotton wool won't help them but _this_...this is unprecedented!'

'You have to admit Boss, it seems just a little too convenient that so basic an error was made? Bagman's people and whoever else they relied on couldn't be _**that**_ incompetent, surely?!' Eyre spluttered.

'You know the old saying about mediocrity rising to the top,' Kingsley answered. 'Fudge is Minister and Umbridge is turning into his right arm. What does that tell you?'

'You've got a point,' Tonks said with a frown. 'Does Crouch have any idea about this, Eyre?'

'Oh Merlin no! I'm not that stupid! I only made the connection myself thanks to sinking a few pints with Mansun and listening to his endless tales of doom, but Crouch has no idea about any of that!'

'Seems Mansun was quite right though, perish the thought.'

'What do we do now?' Eyre asked Kingsley. 'St. Mungo's...and the families...'

'Fawcett's been extremely heavy-handed Boss,' Tonks said angrily. 'That haemorrhoid on the arse of humanity Crouch has been more accommodating and that's saying something! I don't know what this _"doctor's"_ game is but he's definitely running one!'

'I didn't want to have to do this but it's time take this to Scrimgeour,' came the answer. 'Unfortunately he's out in the field. The best I can do is leave word with his assistant and wait for him to get back to me. Just get on with the investigations and I'll get back to you about this as soon as I can...'

**xxxOOOxxx**

Snape had barely rested in the interim he had to wait until he could meet with Arthur Weasley. He'd paced his sitting room endlessly, his mind tormenting him with haunting visions of Angharad at The Cup. Each hypothesis was as likely as the next. He was not spiritual man by any means but found himself praying to the Goddess that there would be no validity to any of the scenarios of his overactive imagination.

Finally the day was upon him and he wasted no time getting himself down to the West Country. Arthur had chosen the location well, he thought to himself as he crossed Stoatshead Common and wound his way through a maze of cobblestone streets. The Barrowboy Inn was in a quiet mews off off the village's main square. Snape took a seat in a back booth affording maximum privacy. He ordered a bottle of Jack Daniels and two glasses but didn't touch it, not trusting himself to remain sober.

Merlin must be smiling on him for once, he thought, as he spotted the flame-haired wizard walking towards him nearly two hours earlier than planned.

'In some respects you do know me too well, Arthur.'

'I've barely rested myself, Severus. There was only one way Pigwidgeon could have returned so soon and conveniently on this of all days. May I?'

Mr. Weasley reached for the bottle of JD after he'd sat down and poured himself a shot. He coughed and shuddered a bit before pouring himself another shot of the next best thing to having Firewhiskey, though the stuff was pretty weak by Wizarding standards.

'It _**is**_ that bad then,' Snape muttered as he poured himself a drink.

'I'm afraid so...'

'Tell me..._tell me everything! Just...give it to me straight!'_

'I don't know if you were aware, but Angharad Serpentarius was at The Cup. She is now a resident of St. Mungo's. I say resident but it seems more like she is a prisoner, in my opinion.'

_'No!'_

'I'm afraid so... Let me explain. It's probably best I start with the beginning. The young lady was amongst the group Ported to The Cup from Stoatshead Hill. That was the first time I met her – and I was quite amazed that she was travelling alone.'

'I am not, but do carry on.'

'She was meeting friends there and as it turns out she was the guest of a family by the name of Flint. The Flints were there with another family – also Slytherins as I understand it.'

'Yes, Marcus Flint was Slytherin Quidditch Captain and his fiancée is Natasha Arbroath. Miss Serpentarius was instrumental in helping them through a good deal of unnecessary romantic awkwardness. I suppose this was their way of thanking her for bringing them together... and for helping him to finally be able to graduate, as it were.'

'Ahh, I see. Well, as it happened our travelling party included Amos Diggory and his son Cedric.'

Snape had an expression that could sour milk at the mention of both names. Mr. Weasley wasn't surprised but did find it amusing nonethless.

'The Diggorys were booked next to your Slytherins so Amos and Cedric walked Miss Serpentarius their Lots...'

'How thoughtful!' Snape sneered.

'Yes; it was very kind of them to take an interest in someone they could have easily ignored, Severus.'

'Yes, yes...carry on Arthur.'

'We really didn't see much of Angharad after that, but from what we heard now and then she seemed to be looked after quite well until...'

_'What happened that night?!'_

'I hadn't seen that level of pandemonium since the war...' Mr. Weasley said hoarsely. 'I gathered my brood up and directed them to the woods where I thought they would be safe. Call it a hunch, but I had a _strong_ feeling that those were genuine Death Eaters torturing that Muggle family and not just your average yobs having a laugh. I actually commented that I hoped Miss Serpentarius was being protected by her hosts as much I tried to protect Hermione Granger. And when the Mark was cast... I was called into action by Barty Crouch as was any other Ministry employees he could get his hands on, including Anthony Flint and David Arbroath, _but I did my best to make sure that my children and their friends were safe!_'

'Are you suggesting that Flint and Arbroath did not?'

'This is where our tale takes a rather ominous turn, Severus. Amos has taken his family on a much-needed holiday in the hopes that Cedric will have sufficiently recovered by the start of the new term. You see...'

_'Oh Diddums! Did the poor ickle pretty boy get a scratch on his precious face?!' _Snape spat.

_'It was Cedric Diggory who found Angharad Serpentarius and kept her alive, Severus!'_

Snape opened his mouth slightly as though to speak before shaking his head _"no"_.

'I managed to have a word with Amos and Cedric before they left for their break to fill in some missing pieces. We went through quite a lot together that night – as you will see,' Mr. Weasley continued. 'Anyway – in the commotion to find a hiding place Miss Serpentarius was separated from the rest of her group. Some hours later, when things seemed to have quieted down, survivors emerged from their hiding places. Amos and I were working together in the same search party, helping people to find their way back to the main campsite. We found the Flints and their party and directed them back to their tents as I explained.'

Mr. Weasley carried on slowly, explaining how Cedric had been in his tent when the Flints and Arbroaths returned. He detailed the argument between Anthony Flint and his sons Matthew and Marcus...with particular emphasis on the fact that Matthew Flint had gone missing not long before the commotion broke out and then calmly walked out of his parent's tent upon their return, freshly showered and changed. Cedric would know because he'd spent a great deal of time around the Flint firepit and had done the same that night after the big final. The venom directed at Angharad Serpentarius took everyone by surprise, apparently, and ripped the Flint family apart.

'Diggory...spent a great deal of time with _**Flint**_?'

'That doesn't really matter one way or another, does it?'

'No,' Snape answered thickly as he poured himself a double shot. 'Continue!'

'As I said, Cedric decided he'd heard enough and stepped out to volunteer and go with Marcus and Anthony Flint to look for Miss Serpentarius. He took off but was a bit too fast for them, I guess. He found her, sent up the emergency signal and that's what lead me to him...'

_'Angharad,' _Severus rasped. '_What happened to Angharad?'_

_'She...she...was beaten and raped, Severus,' _Arthur said tearfully. '_It was bad, so __**bad**_... I warned my Ginny and the others to stay away. Miss Serpentarius was..._naked_...and thrown down onto the rocks like... like...a...a...a soiled dishrag. Cedric, bless him...he'd covered her with his shirt...I'll never forget the look on his face and the way he held her as long as I live... It was an age before he'd let anyone touch her. He was in shock; a very deep and devastating shock... The Flints finally turned up with a team of Aurors leading the way. _I...I...did not know myself in that moment and lost control!_ I was nose-to-nose with Anthony Flint and accused him of all sorts. Mercifully Kingsley Shacklebolt was able to diffuse the situation. I am quite ashamed of myself now that I know better thanks to Cedric. I owe the man an apology and seriously doubt anything I could say would be enough...'

There was an unexpected look that crossed The Potions Master's face that Mr. Weasley had never seen before in all the years he'd known the man. A couple of blinks and it was gone, with Snape's usual inscrutable mask firmly in place. Still, he'd seen it – and knew better than to try to draw an absolute emotional truth out of the most hated creature living or dead at Hogwarts.

Instead, Arthur explained Shacklebolt's opportunism theory and the excuse that had been cooked up to conceal the truth.

'Rita Skeeter and her team are a menace,' he sighed. 'The last thing that poor girl needs is for that to be tabloid fodder!'

'Yes,' Snape said finding a voice that was not quite his usual, 'But the cover story is little better. Neither can get out, especially not with...'

'What, Severus?'

'_The Tri-Wizard Tournament_, Arthur. It's been resurrected and guess which Wizarding school has the honour of hosting?!'

'You're joking!' Mr. Weasly gasped. 'But it hasn't been held in nearly a century!'

'As I understand it, Bartemius Crouch has always been quite ambitious. His successful negotiations for The Cup made it possible. But of course no one outside of Crouch, Fudge, the Headmaster, we Heads of Houses and now you has any idea. It will be formally announced at the Welcoming Feast next term.'

'And of course no one else will. _Merlin wept_...there wasn't time to really think things through. You've seen the papers. Skeeter and her bunch were up to no good that night at The Cup and apparently they've been sneaking around St. Mungo's on the scent of a scoop or two. Which brings me to the other reason for our chat: I stopped in several days in a row to visit Miss Serpentarius and was refused admittance. I have no idea what's going on, but I find it hard to believe that the young lady's condition warrants it. Dr. Fawcett initially said she only needed a couple of days and...'

'Fawcett... not _Armando Fawcett_, by any chance?!'

'The very one! I take it you know him?'

'Oh I do indeed know him! _Fuck, fuck, FUCK!_'

_'Severus?'_

'The good doctor is a thief, a liar, _a fraud_! Like Gilderoy Lockhart, Fawcett is a con artist most unworthy of the accolades heaped upon him. However unlike Lockhart, Fawcett is not devoid of legitimate talent – hence his ability to secure a senior role with St. Mungo's within a few years of leaving Hogwarts. The Headmaster knows it all too well _now_; unfortunately he waited too long to discover the truth for himself, though Fawcett has been a useful ally for him on occasion.'

'Does this have anything to do with You-Know-Who?'

'Not entirely – and fortunately for Fawcett the Dark Lord's interest only drifted his way a few days before a certain fateful evening.'

'But how exactly do you know him, Severus, if you don't mind my asking?'

Snape took a deep breath and poured himself another drink.

'Fawcett was in my Year at Hogwarts. He is a Slytherin – and he was one of my roommates.'

'I see...'

'That's not even the half of it I can assure you.'

'Not surprised; nothing is ever as simple as we might wish it to be.'

'Sadly not. Thank you Arthur, for everything.'

'If you need any help Severus, just say the word.'

'And what would it cost?'

'Nothing. Accepting payment for testing your Potions is one thing _(and that's hard enough as it is)_, but this is something else. I am no mercenary; just a concerned parent. That could have just as easily been Ginny or Hermione, really.'

'You took the day off, I seem to recall?'

'Yes I did; it was long overdue and I didn't want to be rushed. And to be honest, I'll need to get my head together a bit before going back to work.'

'You might find my next appointment quite interesting. It just so happens that I had another delivery alongside your own,' Snape said as he handed over Sebastian's note.

'_Merlin's Beard!_ Quite an enterprising man this brother of hers is!'

'He may yet surprise us still,' Snape commented as he stood up. 'Allow me settle up and I will meet you outside.'

**xxxOOOxxx**

'My how the other half do live,' Mr. Weasley muttered as he and Snape walked towards the red door that denoted Sebastian's flat in the Serpentarius compound.

'Quite an empty life in many respects I can assure you,' Severus commented as he looked past the imposing stately home at the surrounding grounds.

He took a deep breath and rang the buzzer. The sound of a dog's agitated barks reached them along with a _"Calm down, Fezziwig for heaven's sake! Stupid dog! God help me I'll be so glad when she's finally home!"_

The door flew open and the two wizards found themselves lost for words as their eyes rested on a sandy-haired man who bore a spooky resemblance to none other than Draco Malfoy.

_'Professor Snape! I...I can't thank you enough for coming!' _Sebastian cried as he fought to restrain himself from throwing his arms around the cantankerous older man. _'Please – come in, both of you...'_

**OOO**

'Mr. Serpentarius,' Snape said with a nod as he tried not to stare. 'I would like to introduce you to Arthur Weasley. His children are students at Hogwarts and he was at The Cup...'

'_You were on Stoatshead Hill!_' Sebastian said as he pushed cups of tea across his coffee table. 'I drove Angharad there myself to see her off and then watched from a rather discreet spot as you all..._disappeared_. I had the distinct impression that she was the only Slytherin in the bunch!'

'Yes she was but it wasn't a problem for any of us I can assure you,' said Mr. Weasley. 'As it happens I sent Professor Snape a note concerning your sister at the same time as yourself; for the same reasons as it turns out.'

'The two of you together can provide a more comprehensive accounting,' Snape said. 'Arthur, if you will...'

With great delicacy and fatherly tenderness, Mr. Weasley repeated everything that he'd already explained to Severus. It was he who put an arm around Angharad's brother when the young man broke down in tears. Snape excused himself to use the facilities, ignoring the dog who seemed rather overexcited by his presence.

Mercifully Sebastian had pulled himself together by the time Snape returned. His eyes were puffy and bloodshot but he was calmer as he detailed his own experiences with the team of Aurors from the Ministry of Magic and the somewhat shady doctor at St. Mungo's. He and his sister had planned on relocating to Wales by the end of the summer; both had been quite excited by the prospect of making a fresh start. This business with the shady doctor had changed everything.

'By the way, Severus, why does everyone refer to this Fawcett as _"Doctor"_?' Mr. Weasley asked. 'He's a Healer surely?'

Severus repeated what he'd told Mr. Weasley about Armando Fawcett.

'_"Healer"_ doesn't have quite the gravitas for those caught up in their own self-importance in the way that Fawcett is,' he said. 'His insistence on _"Doctor"_ is a pretentious affectation that suits his ambitions. It would be understandable were he actually in possession of a PhD or legitimate medical qualifications.'

'Are you saying he's not a real doctor?! Some charlatan has that much control over my sister?!'

'In Wizarding terms, Fawcett's position of authority exceeds his meagre magical talent. He relies heavily on the abilities of those better qualified for the role than he is. He cheated his way into that job and he's cheated ever since to keep it.'

'Well you know what they say – _mediocrity rises to the top_,' Sebastian sighed. 'I guess that's as true in your world as it is in mine.'

_'Quite,'_ Snape commented brusquely.

'I want my sister out of there, Professor! Can you do something? _Please?'_

'I can and I will – and Arthur has generously offered his assistance as well.'

'Thank you, thank you both; I don't know what else to say,' Sebastian muttered, looking visibly relieved.

'Your appreciation is enough,' Snape said evenly. 'Now... _this is what I propose we do..._'


End file.
